Local unemployment down slightly

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Uric Dufrene, Sanders Chair of the Indiana University Southeast School of Business

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September 4, 2010

Economist says frustrated job-seekers may account for dip in labor force

By DANIEL SUDDEATH Daniel.Suddeath@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Sat Sep 04, 2010, 01:05 PM EDT

LOUISVILLE METRO — While the decline hasn’t been rapid, unemployment rates have dropped by half a percentage point since July of 2009 in the Louisville Metro Statistical Area.

A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed the jobless mark fell slightly to 9.7 percent in July of 2010, down from 9.8 percent in June. The unemployment rate was 10.2 percent in July of 2009.

The study showed there were about 62,100 unemployed residents that qualify for the report in the Louisville Metro Statistical Area — which includes Floyd and Clark counties in Indiana. While that’s down about 3,500 people from the same time last year, the numbers aren’t all positive.

Over that span the labor force also decreased by about 6,700.

“This is due to a number of reasons,” said Uric Dufrene, Sanders chair of the Indiana University Southeast School of Business.

“Workers may be discouraged, and so they are simply not looking for work, and opt to drop out of the labor force.”

For example, the disenfranchised job seeker may seek an education degree or choose to manage their household, Dufrene said.

The area is basically stuck in the bottom of the U of an anticipated U-shaped recovery, he added.

“The economy has experienced a summer chill,” Dufrene said. “Housing continues to face problems nationally. Locally, building permits continue to see little movement.”

Another negative sign, Dufrene continued, is that the Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index has declined for five consecutive quarters in the Louisville Metro Statistical Area.

“As long as we continue to face challenges in housing, consumer spending will be restrained,” Dufrene said. “The consumer is returning, but only cautiously and gradually.”

Indiana’s jobless rate increased slightly in July to 10.2 percent, though Floyd and Clark counties continued their trends of coming in less than the state mark.

Floyd accounted for one of the lowest unemployment rates among Indiana counties at 8.5 percent in July. Clark recorded a rate of 9.1 percent.

State officials are blaming the double digit unemployment mark on a renewed fervor from Indiana workers encouraged by growth in the private sector.

“Our unemployment rate stubbornly remains around 10 percent because Indiana’s positive job growth has encouraged thousands of Hoosiers to return to the labor force and resume their job hunt this year,” said Mark W. Everson, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

But locally, Dufrene said there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

“These latest employment numbers simply point to a very slow and almost stagnant recovery,” he said.

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