By Annie Goeller, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
While some local companies are accepting applications from prospective employees, others are calling back some of the workers who were laid off.
Business leaders said they are seeing improvements in the local job market, but more layoffs are possible.
For the first time in nearly a year, the monthly unemployment rate did not increase.
In April, the rate was 8.1 percent, with 5,856 workers out of a job, compared with the March unemployment rate of 8.7 percent, with 6,327 local workers out of a job.
In counties across the state, the rate dropped, including all the counties surrounding Indianapolis.
Statewide, the rate dropped to 9.9 percent, just under the 10 percent mark from March, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Part of that drop can be explained by manufacturing workers called back to their jobs after being laid off, said Matt Will, professor of finance at University of Indianapolis.
KYB Manufacturing recently started a small second shift after cutting back to one shift earlier this year, general manager John Papandreou said.
That means that some of their workers who were laid off were called back to their jobs, he said. He declined to give the exact number of employees called back to work.
"We were glad to be able to bring some people back," he said.
Papandreou believes the company is starting a slight uptick after bottoming out in February because the automakers they supply have cut their inventory of parts, which was a concern months ago and significantly slowed production in facilities across the nation.
The plant's head count of workers has been steady, compared to reductions of about 45 percent of its work force since March 2008.
The hope from local leaders is that other companies are doing the same.
April's unemployment rate is still more than twice as high as the rate in April 2008.
But for the first time since May 2008, the rate did not increase from the previous month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Will believes the uptick is directly related to an increase in the Institute for Supply Management index, which increased in April.
That index reflects any increases or decreases manufacturing companies across the nation are seeing in their activity, Will said.
"We're a manufacturing state. So it would make sense that if manufacturing has improved, unemployment would, too," Will said.
The number still shows the country is in a recession, but it's improving, he said.
That means companies either are keeping their work force steady or are calling some of their workers back after layoffs, he said.
Cheryl Morphew, who leads the Johnson County Development Corp., said the talk she is hearing from companies is that they are holding steady. They're not hiring new workers, but they're also not planning more layoffs, she said.
"I'm hearing some companies are at a maintain level. The bleeding has stopped," she said.
But the bad news is still out there, too.
Will said he believes the local and state unemployment rates will continue to fluctuate over the coming months, possibly increasing again next month.
"You don't just jump out of the recession in one big jump," he said.
More layoffs are possible.
The automotive industry is still struggling and could face more problems with Chrysler and General Motors closing car dealerships. Construction is still down, too, Franklin Mayor Fred Paris said.
"We are seeing some that are starting to stabilize, but there will be some more that will still have layoffs," Paris said.
He believes a pickup likely won't come until the end of summer.
Will believes the country likely will be out of the current recession by the third or fourth quarter of this year.