By TJ HEMLINGER
Staff Writer

     Whitley County’s unemployment rate fell by 0.6 percentage points from August to September, but it’s still more than 40 percent higher from what it was one year ago, statistics released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development revealed.
     The county’s rate for September was 11.5 percent, down from August’s 12.2 percent but well ahead of September 2008, when it was just 6.8 percent.
     That means that more than one in nine county residents cannot find work. That figure placed it 17th-worst in the state.
     Indiana’s preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points in September to 9.6 percent. The state’s unemployment rate has dropped 1.1 percentage points over the previous three months and now is lower than the national unemployment rate for the first time since October 2008.
     Elkhart County once again had the highest rate in the state at 15.0 percent. Noble County was second at 14.5 percent, followed by LaGrange at 14.0 percent. DeKalb County was ninth at 12.4 percent.
     Wabash County was 14th at 12.0 percent, and Huntington County was 22nd at 11.1 percent. Kosciusko County was 25th at 11.0 percent, and Allen County was 48th at 9.3 percent.
     “As so goes northeast Indiana, so goes Whitley County,” Alan Tio, president of the Whitley County Economic Development Corp., said. “We’re seeing some improvement as we move from heavily automotive industry to other areas.
     “Even so, GM may be bringing in more work for its Allen County and Grant County plants.
     “We’re working hard with elected officials and other officials to bring in more jobs. I think we’ll see more regional and national data that we’re making a recovery.”
     Teresa Voors, commissioner of the Indiana DWD, said, “Indiana is bucking the national trend with three straight months of declining unemployment. We are encouraged by increases in manufacturing and professional and business jobs. It’s still too early to say we have turned the corner, but Indiana’s economy is definitely trending in the right direction.”
     Indiana had the lowest unemployment rate of its neighboring states. Illinois increased 0.5 percentage points to 10.5 percent. Ohio’s unemployment rate decreased from 10.8 to 10.1 percent. Kentucky decreased 0.3 percentage points to 10.9 percent, and Michigan went up 0.1 percentage points to 15.3 percent.
     Indiana’s unemployment rate stood at 6.1 percent in September 2008.
     According to the DWD, total non-farm employment in Indiana grew by 4,400 jobs in September. Revised August employment figures also showed an increase in total non-farm employment. This marks the first back-to-back monthly employment gains in Indiana since October/November 2007.
     In September, Indiana’s manufacturing sector added 3,000 positions from August. Professional and business service sectors added 2,900 jobs. Indiana did record a decline in construction of 3,300 positions, which could signal a premature end to the construction season, the DWD said.

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