October Unemployment Rate Declines
November 20, 2017
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics have released the October 2017 Unemployment Report. According to the data, the rate for Huntington County declined slightly from the previous month. The rate for October is 4.0% compared to September's 4.5%.
"Huntington County's unemployment rate continues to be elevated as a result of the combination of short-term lay-offs at Continental Structural Plastics, a result of the installation of new manufacturing lines, and permanent lay-offs of manufacturing employees at the UTEC plant," said Mark Wickersham, executive director of the Huntington County Economic Development Corporation. "As CSP begins recalling approximately 150 workers effected by the temporary lay-off and begins hiring new employees next year as part of their expansion, the unemployment rate should stabilize. CSP's $33.5 million expansion is expected to create 157 new jobs beginning early next year," Wickersham added. "It's also worth noting UTEC is hiring electrical, software and manufacturing engineers at their Huntington Plant," said Wickersham.
The U-1 Unemployment Rate, the measure of persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer as a percentage of the civilian labor force, was reported at 1.5% for October. "We're doing everything we can to assist employers in creating job opportunities and connecting job hunters to those openings. This is about more than statistics. It's about people. To the extent there is a silver lining, it's with the number of available jobs and numerous employers hiring at this time," Wickersham concluded.