ANDERSON — Known for its strength in traditional and progressive manufacturing, Indiana gained more than 5,500 jobs in the manufacturing sector last month and has maintaining a 5.9 percent unemployment rate from June.
The national unemployment rate is 6.2 percent, climbing slightly from 6.1 percent in June.
“Despite a national slowdown in new car sales, the manufacturing spike accounted for more than half all the new jobs created in the state,” said Ball State economist Michael Hicks in a statement on Monday.
Hicks is the director of Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) and forecasts more positive employment figures as manufacturing employment increases local demand for services and construction.
“Indiana’s economy has seen several months of a great one-two punch of strong job growth in high-paying sectors and a steady growth in the labor supply,” he said. “The state continues to perform remarkably, and this is the sort of employment growth that should begin to slow the income gap between Hoosiers and the nation as a whole.”
Overall, 9,900 jobs were created in the private sector in July, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. More than 66,300 private sector jobs have been added since 2013 and about 244,000 jobs have been created since unemployment lows in July 2009.
The state’s labor force increased by more than 54,000 since last year, which is more than eight times the national rate of growth.
Scott B. Sanders, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, said the growth was “remarkable” and initial claims for benefits are at levels not seen since 2000.
In 2013, the largest sectors in Madison County were comprised of health care and social assistance and the average wage per job was $38,152, according to STATS Indiana. Manufacturing jobs in the county comprise 10.5 percent of all industry and are ranked 78th in the state.
Hicks said the nation’s economic conditions were less than ideal during the first six months of the year and several factors must be considered when predicting the state’s future outlook.
“When the final numbers are in, it is likely the U.S. will not have seen GDP growth on a per capita basis throughout the first half of the year,” Hicks said. “It will take a remarkable two quarters for the nation to see even 2 percent growth at a time when several major trading partners in Europe and Asia are in or dangerously near a recession.
“And with state tax revenues continuing to disappoint, we cannot be too overjoyed.”