A new analysis of economic recovery in counties across the country shows northeast Indiana fared well compared with the rest of Indiana.
LaGrange and Steuben counties are two of the seven Indiana counties that managed to fully recover to pre-recession levels in four areas measured by the National Association of Counties analysis. DeKalb and Noble counties fully recovered in three of four. Job recovery is the one area that has not reached pre-recession levels in those two counties.
The data was sourced from Moody Analytics and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The new in-depth analysis reveals that economic recovery accelerated over the past year, but challenges remain, a news release from NACo said.
County Economies 2015: Opportunities and Challenges, released this month by NACo, tracks annual changes in 2015 in four key economic performance indicators across the nation’s 3,069 county economies. The performance indicators are: economic output or gross domestic product, employment, unemployment rates and home prices. The new analysis also explores wage dynamics in 2014 and between 2009 and 2014.
“Despite the economic rebound in some areas across the country, the majority of our counties’ families are still struggling financially,” said NACo President Sallie Clark. “Counties are the foundation and the building blocks of our community, regional, statewide and national economies. Strong county economies help to create healthy, vibrant and safe neighborhoods by providing vital services for our citizens.”
In Indiana, the other five counties that have recovered fully are Clark, Elkhart, Gibson, Marshall and Vanderburgh. Six counties have not recovered fully in all four areas: Delaware, Franklin, Madison, Tipton, Vermllion and Vigo.
For the other seven northeast Indiana counties that make up the Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority, recovery areas were: Adams, 3; Allen, 2; Huntington, 2; Kosciusko, 1; Wabash, 2; Wells, 3; and Whitley, 3.
Nationally, recovery of unemployment and home prices accelerated, but GDP recovery was less pronounced.
Economic recovery is spreading more rapidly, but most county economies have not fully recovered.
By 2015, 214 county economies recovered on all four indicators, almost three times more than by 2014.
County economies fully recovered represent only 7 percent of all county economies. The majority of the fully recovered county economies are concentrated in Texas, Nebraska and Kansas.
Almost 16 percent of county economies had not recovered on any indicator.
The recovery is creating an uneven geography of opportunity, the report said.
Wages increased for about two-thirds of county economies in 2014, the latest year with available data.
Since 2009, however, growing productivity has not always meant that wages have grown.
Between 2009 and 2014, 47 percent of county economies experienced increases in productivity and wages – including the majority of counties in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
Twenty-eight percent of county economies saw real wages decline while productivity increased.
As candidates for president discuss their plans for expanding opportunity for Americans, NACo encouraged them to work with counties.
“We are doing our part, investing in economic development, infrastructure and other services, but we cannot do it alone. Counties urge candidates for president to work with us to create greater opportunity for all Americans,” said Matthew Chase, NACo’s executive director. “Economic realities on the ground highlight the importance of working closely with our state, federal, non-profit and private-sector partners to deliver essential services to residents across the country.”
Emilia Istrate, NACo’s director of research, added, “County Economies 2015 reminds us that the national picture of the U.S. economy can obscure what is happening on the ground. Economic growth is spreading, but most county economies have not recovered to levels seen before the recession.”