By Boris Ladwig, The Republic
bladwig@therepublic.com
Unemployment rates in southcentral Indiana fell from August to September, but some counties continued to report job losses.
Bartholomew County's rate fell from 8.9 percent in August to 8.8 percent in September, according to preliminary figures by Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
However, Bartholomew County also lost 15 jobs during that month.
That means the unemployment rate fell solely because the labor force declined, which means the unemployment rate fell because people left the area or gave up looking for work.
Jennings and Decatur counties reported similar trends.
Jennings County's rate fell from 12.7 percent to 12.2 percent, but the county also employed 26 fewer people in September than in August.
Decatur County's rate fell from 11.7 percent to 11 percent, but the number of jobs declined by 10.
Rates in Brown and Jackson counties fell from 8 percent to 7.8 percent and 10.6 percent to 10.1 percent, but job growth remained anemic: Combined, the five counties added 44 jobs from August to September, or an average nine jobs per county.
Compared to a year ago, the labor market has declined markedly: The five counties lost a combined 4,578 jobs in the 12 months before September.
Indiana's unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent in September, down 0.3 percentage points from August, as growth in the manufacturing and service sectors helped Indiana gain the most new jobs of any state.
Figures released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that Indiana added about 4,400 jobs to record its first back-to-back monthly gains since late 2007.
The state's seasonally adjusted jobless rate, which fell from 9.9 percent in August, reflected a regional trend. The Midwest was the nation's only region where the unemployment rate declined.
But with 287,720 Indiana residents still out of work in September, it would be premature to declare that the state has seen the worst of the recession, said Matt Kinghorn, an economic research analyst with the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University.
The 9.6 percent jobless rate puts Indiana below the national rate for the first time since October 2008. Last month, the nation's unemployment rate stood at a 26-year high of 9.8 percent.
Robert Guell, an economics professor at Indiana State University, said the state has benefited partially from a rebound in the auto sector.
For example, Honda Motor Co., which manufactures the Civic at a plant in Greensburg was a major beneficiary of the clunkers program, which provided rebates to consumers who traded in old cars for newer, more fuel-efficient models Guell said.
Associated Press contributed to this report.