By Ronald Hawkins, Reporter-Times
rhawkins@reporter-times.com
Although the Morgan County unemployment rate is slightly lower than the overall Indiana rate, residents seeking work are facing the same challenges as other Hoosiers.
Among the states, Indiana reported the biggest increase in new claims for the week ending March 7 with a jump of more than 5,500, which state officials attributed to layoffs in the auto and manufacturing industries. The next largest increases were in Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida and Michigan.
Those numbers don't include county-by-county breakdowns, but the figures for Indiana in January include county totals.
In January, the non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Indiana was 9.9 percent. The Morgan County rate was 9.4 percent.
Only Shelby County with a 10.5 percent had a higher rate among counties surrounding Indianapolis. Neighboring Brown County, which isn't one of those counties, had a 10.9 percent rate.
The job markets in Indianapolis to the north and Bloomington to the south have a significant effect on Morgan County, said Jeff Pipkin, deputy director of the Morgan County Economic Development Corp.
"What happens in Indianapolis and Bloomington trickles down to Morgan County," Pipkin said. "Half if not more of the workforce commutes to Marion County or Bloomington."
Among those bucking the downward trend is Twigg Corp., a Martinsville aerospace components manufacturer, Pipkin said.
"They're staying busy, but they're being very cautious" about their workforce, Pipkin said.
Among others doing well are any companies with military-related contracts and health care-related business, he said.
Martinsville Mayor Phil Deckard said the unemployment situation is bad.
"More and more people are coming in here (the mayor's office) every day seeking work," Deckard said. "We are no longer taking applications."
City hiring practices are affected by budget restriction and some positions are unionized, he said. Particular training and certifications are required for police and fire department jobs.
Deckard said he sees some glimmers of hope.
"Small business, fast food restaurants, Rural King are looking for workers," Deckard said. "I'm seeing a little daylight."
The mayor said he wishes he could say there are hot prospects about ready to bring employment opportunities to the city. He said he was working with one company that could end up bringing jobs to the community, but added he couldn't name the firm.
"I'm seeing a little daylight," the mayor said.
Indiana Department of Workforce Development spokesman Marc Lotter said too much stock can be placed in one week's unemployment claims.
"It's up 5,000 in this week's report and next week there could be a decrease of 7,000," Lotter said.
With spring approaching, construction jobs could pick up, Lotter said, particularly in outdoor road construction and other heavy construction.
"We're continuing to see a decline in manufacturing, retail, consistent with much of the nation, especially the industrial Midwest," said Lotter. "We've also continued to see increased claims in the RV industry as it continues to consolidate, especially in northern Indiana."
Indiana has about doubled the number of claims from this time a year ago, he said.
Nationally, the Labor Department said Thursday that initial requests for unemployment insurance dropped to a seasonally adjusted 646,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 658,000. That was better than analysts' expectations, but continuing claims jumped 185,000 to a seasonally adjusted 5.47 million, another record-high and more than the roughly 5.33 million that economists expected.