Sept. Unemployment Rises, In Part Due to Temporary GM Shutdown
October 19, 2012
For Immediate Release Contact: Mark Wickersham
October 19, 2012 260-356-5688
Sept. unemployment figures rise, in part due to temporary GM plant shutdown
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development have released the unemployment report for September 2012. According to their report, the unemployment rate for Huntington County residents stood at 8.4%, up from 7.9% in August. The September report covers the period from August 11 - September 10, 2012.
The report indicates that 364 more Huntington County residents were employed in September than in August; however, the total labor force also increased during the same period as did the number of unemployed. The rate is .5% lower than the year before.
“One of the contributing factors to September’s slightly higher unemployment rate is the temporary plant shutdown of GM’s Fort Wayne Assembly Plant,” said Mark Wickersham, executive director, Huntington County Economic Development.
“We’re very proud to be a GM/automotive county, and while our situation improves with their growth, we also experience the opposite when they have temporary events. Their scheduled shutdown the weeks of September 3 and 10 were covered in this reporting period.”
Wickersham concluded, “While Huntington County’s situation is significantly improved from the 14.3% peak we experienced in 2009—and nearly 1,300 new jobs have been created in the County in the last 5 years—new jobs continue to be among our top priorities.”