> SOUTHERN INDIANA —
As has been the trend in recent employment reports, there’s some good news mixed with the bad in the latest jobs study for the Louisville Metro Statistical Area.
The unemployment rate for the area — which includes Floyd, Clark and Harrison counties — stood at 8.7 percent in December and job growth accelerated, however, the number of people without a job searching for one stood at 56,000 at the end of 2011.
“At the start of the recession in 2007, the number of unemployed was approximately 35,000,” said Uric Dufrene, Sanders Chair of the Indiana University School of Business.
From year-to-year, there was a decline in the number of unemployed, as there were 62,000 potential workers without jobs at the end of 2010. But the number of people without work points to continued challenges in the regional labor market, Dufrene said.
“The elevated number of unemployed also points to a potential unemployment duration problem for the” Louisville Metro Statistical Area, he said.
Dufrene added that a continued high number of jobless residents isn’t a problem unique to the area.
On a positive note, the Louisville Metro Statistical Area added more than 20,000 jobs from the end of 2010 to December 2011. The total accounts for a 3.4 percent growth in year-over-year job gains. Dufrene said the area is about 16,000 jobs shy of its pre-recession peak, as nonfarm payrolls now stand at about 610,000.
“I am very confident that we will erase this jobs deficit this year,” he predicted. “Job growth should continue at a moderate pace, and we will see more upside growth if manufacturing sees a stronger rebound from last year.”
The state reported Floyd County’s unemployment rate to be 7.4 percent and Clark County’s rate 8 percent for December.
Jody Wassmer, CEO of One Southern Indiana, said it’s impressive that Clark and Floyd counties are faring better than their Kentucky counterparts in the Louisville Metro Statistical Area.
“I think the general consensus is that things are looking up, and that we’re starting to rebound nicely,” he said. “These numbers aren’t moving on a big scale, but they are moving in the right direction.”
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Area unemployment rate relatively unchanged
Still 56,000 workers without jobs
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