July 2014: Decatur County had highest number of jobs in more than a decade

The county’s businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations in July counted 12,907 employees, the most since November 2002, according to preliminary data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Compared to July 2012, the number of local jobs had increased by 318, or 2.5 percent.

Last year, Decatur County had gained jobs at a faster clip than all but one of Indiana’s 92 counties. Job growth was buoyed by millions of dollars in investments from companies including Hitachi Powdered Metals, Valeo and Delta Faucet.

Jobs announcements have continued this year: In July, for example, auto parts maker Valeo Engine Cooling said it plans to invest nearly $28 million in new machinery in Greensburg and expects to create 257 new jobs by the end of 2015. The company will add four new product lines for Honda, Nissan, Chrysler and Ford, according to city officials.

Local businesses and schools also are cooperating more closely to close the skills gap with which many companies are struggling. Greensburg Community Schools recently completed a new vocational center next to the high school and is providing a curriculum that aligns more closely with needs of local businesses.

Most companies in Decatur County are hiring, said Marc Coplon, executive director for the Greensburg/Decatur County Economic Development Corp.

He said county officials and employers may soon shift their worries from finding work for the unemployed to finding workers for companies that are hiring. If the unemployment rate dips much lower, employers will struggle even more to find qualified employees.

Coplon said the school’s new vocational center should help address that problem when it arises, especially because it ultimately will make training available to workers who were displaced during the Great Recession and will have to update their skills to find work.

The county’s unemployment rate in July was 5.1 percent, down from 6.9 percent a year earlier and down from 5.4 percent in June.

Decatur County’s rate in July was tied for the 28th-lowest. Dubois County recorded the lowest rate, 3.9 percent. Sullivan County had the highest rate, with 7.9 percent. The state average was 5.8 percent.

Coplon said that to some extent, the actual unemployment rate is probably a little bit higher, because some people who lost their jobs during the recession gave up looking for work and have yet to re-enter the labor force.

In July, the county’s labor force, which includes all people who are at least 16 and either work or are looking for work, reached 13,603, the highest since before the turn of the millennium. In the last year, the labor force increased by 88 or less than 1 percentage point. Economists generally say that a rising labor force points to an improving economy.

The number of people who were reported jobless in July stood at 696, down 230 or nearly 25 percent from a year earlier. The number has remained below 1,000 for 15 consecutive months. At the height of the recession, the figure exceeded 1,700.

All of Decatur County’s neighbors showed similar job market trends, with lower unemployment rates and more people holding jobs. Rates of neighboring counties ranged from 4.2 percent in Bartholomew County to 6.2 percent in Ripley County.

The state’s rate in July, at 5.8 percent, was down from 7.5 percent a year earlier. The state gained more than 110,00 jobs in the last year. The national rate, at 6.5 percent, was down from 7.7 percent. The nation’s employers added more than 2.1 million jobs since July 2012.