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More Hoosiers were out of work in July as the state’s unemployment rate went from 5.9 to 6.3 percent. And while higher than the national average of 5.7 percent, Indiana is still doing better than it’s neighbors; Illinois – 7.3 percent, Kentucky – 6.7 percent, Ohio – 7.2 percent, Michigan – 8.5 percent.
What’s more interesting than the statistics is where the jobs are being lost and what kinds. Indiana has taken the biggest hit in its auto manufacturing/transportation sector losing more than 21,000 jobs since July of last year. And any city or town that relies on heavy industry is also taking a hit. Look at these numbers for July 2007 – July 2008.
- Ft. Wayne – 1,900 jobs lost.
- Terre Haute – 1,200 jobs lost.
- Elkhart-Goshen – 4,700 jobs lost.
- South Bend – 2,600 jobs lost.
- Kokomo – 1,600 jobs lost.
- Anderson – 1,500 jobs lost.
Indiana did see some job gains since July of last year. 5,600 jobs were created in the Indianapolis-Carmel area. 2,100 jobs were created in Gary. And 2,300 jobs were created in Lafayette.
Putting the best face on bad picture, the Daniels administration says while the numbers aren’t good, they show Indiana is holding up a lot better than other places. And they also point to companies committing to create 12,000 jobs since January 1.
The Jill Long Thompson campaign immediately pounced on the economic bad news. In a statement Thompson said, “This is more devastating news for Indiana’s working families and it further illustrates the need for a new direction and new leadership in this state. Month after month Indiana continues to lose good-paying jobs while this administration does little, if anything, to stop it. I firmly believe that with the right leadership and right priorities we can turn this economy around. I am running for Governor because I want to work to rebuild this economy and make Indiana more competitive by overhauling our tax structure, reforming our health care and education systems and working to bring economic opportunity and good-paying jobs back to every Indiana community.”
Thompson has advocated a three-tier system for economic development using tax credits and incentives to create “good-paying” jobs. What she has yet to explain is how she would replace jobs in the transportation sector when sales have plummeted because of $4 a gallon gas. In addition, out of Indiana’s 14 metropolitan regions, only one has seen a double-digit increase in unemployment, that’s Anderson at 11 percent with a 4,800 job loss since January 2005. The next worse is Kokomo that’s experienced at 6.1 percent job loss since January 2005 at 2,900 jobs. Seven cities have seen increases in jobs ranging from 8.4 percent in Columbus to 1.5 percent in Evansville. The other remaining cities and towns have all had single-digit increases in unemployment ranging from 0.3 percent to 2.4 percent.
Since the Daniels administration ran in 2004 on job creation, it is fair criticism to attack their record. However when Democrats simply cite the total job loss number, forgetting that jobs are also created in that same time period they deserve chastising for not being intellectually honest. The truth of the matter is that Indiana, like everywhere else in the Mid-West is in bad shape. The good news is, it could be a lot worse. If you don’t believe me, get in your, get on the interstate and drive a couple hours.