few glimmers of hope were evident in Northern Indiana's labor market information for February 2013, when the region's jobless rate fell to 9.9 percent from 10.3 percent during the prior month.
Although the regional unemploy- ment rate was stubbornly high, north-central Indiana benefitted from a strengthening manufac- turing sector statewide. Since employment in the Hoosier state bottomed out in July 2009, Indiana employers have added more than 188,000 private-sector jobs, in- cluding nearly 65,000 new jobs in manufacturing alone. During 12 months ending in February 2013, manufacturing job growth in Indiana far outpaced the national average, with Indiana manufac- turers adding jobs three times faster than the nationwide average (3.3 percent versus 0.9 percent).
Nonetheless, Northern Indiana's high jobless rate signals that individuals need to do more to align their technical- and soft-skills with the abilities sought by em- ployers when they seek to hire qualified candidates.
When an employer moves into a hiring mode, there are a couple key aspects of the hiring process that individual job seekers should bear in mind if you're jobless, are you listening?
Some employers in Northern Indiana are hiring right now to fill openings because their orders for goods and services are increasing from customers inside and outside the region.
Moreover, Hoosiers seeking em- ployment also should be aware of a second key element to the process, from an employer's perspective:
Individuals seeking to secure one of these openings must have acquired through training, education and experience the technical- and soft-skills needed to accomplish all the duties of an open job.
Thus, an out-of-work Hoosier indeed has an opportunity at hand to enter a job if he or she has acquired necessary skills to perform well not only in an employer's evaluation of can- didates but also in accomplishing specific duties.
NEED A SOLID PLAN TO BOOST YOUR JOB SKILLS; WORKONE HAS RESOURCES AND EXPERTS TO HELP !Northern Indiana's labor market information (LMI) in February 2013 showed a labor force of 286,380 Hoosiers with 258,100 individuals holding jobs throughout Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, Marshall and Saint Joseph counties (Region 2 of the state's 12 economic growth regions).
The reason a plan to boost skills is important for every job seeker is because local employers will hire only individuals who have acquired the skills necessary to accomplish fully the duties of an open job. For a local employer to do otherwise would set their operations on a path toward inefficiency, which in turn would lead to declines in productivity.
WorkOne staff members are eager to assist job seekers in developing a personal plan to elevate their skills; moreover, WorkOne staffers have expertise in guiding individuals to bolster their technical- and soft-skills.
Meanwhile, economic conditions improved modestly across the state's northern third, where the three-region, 23-county Northern Tier jobless rate declined slightly to 10.0 percent in February 2013 from 10.2 percent during the prior month. Indiana's Northern Tier serves as a noteworthy gauge of the ripples and currents of the labor market by featuring 1.03 million workers, thus composing nearly one-third of Indiana's total workforce of 3.14 million individuals. The Northern Tier includes Region 1 from Northwest Indiana, Region 2 in north-central and Region 3 in Northeast Indiana.
WorkOne staff members talk with regional employers regularly about what skills they need in newly hired individuals, and WorkOne uses this information to operate a skills-training program available to Hoosiers at no charge.
In fact, despite a jobless rate of 9.9 percent in February 2013 in Northern Indiana (28,295 jobless persons from a 286,377-member labor force), there are Region 2 employers in a hiring mode but when moving to hire, they consider only candidates who have acquired the technical abilities and soft skills to accom- plish the duties of the open job at hand (need proof? Please see Success Stories).
WorkOne's professional staff members are knowledgeable about what types of skills Northern Indiana employers seek in people when they engage in a lengthy and expensive process of hiring. Thus, if you are a jobless Hoosier, WorkOne is your best resource for information and advice on the job skills required by Northern Indiana employers please come talk to us; we're eager to listen!
WorkOne has all the tools from counselors who understand what skills regional employers need to ultra-fast Internet connections for online skill-building to provide a top-to-bottom action plan to help all Hoosiers who desire to improve their skills. And WorkOne's services are free of charge to Indiana resi- dents. If you'd like to take advantage of WorkOne's expertise, please visit a WorkOne office in Northern Indiana.
ARE YOU OUT OF WORK IN NORTHERN INDIANA? WORKONE IS YOUR BEST RESOURCE TO BOOST YOUR SKILLSNorthern Indiana's labor force continues to experience the stresses and pains of recovering from the 2008-10 global recession and economic restructuring, and many more months of growth and recovery are needed for employers to create substantial numbers of new jobs.
Importantly, individuals who are out-of-work should continue to talk to WorkOne's employment specialists in an effort to boost their job skills and training.
As the economy recovers, Northern Indiana companies and organizations will require that new employees have up-to-date skills in areas including:
SKILLS THAT EMPLOYERS NEEDIN PEOPLE
using computers;
using the web or Internet;
using email for work activities;
using word processing, presentation, calculation and other software pro-grams;
showing organizational abilities;
communicating well with others in a workplace;
working as part of a team;
displaying an upbeat attitude and honesty;
understanding lean operations; and
other skill sets.
WorkOne encourages Hoosiers to attendfree seminars coveringthese topics and otherimportant job skills.
BENCHMARK JOBLESS RATES FROM 2012 SHOW PROGRESS YET ADDITIONAL JOBS & SKILLS NEEDEDMoreover, Northern Indiana's jobless rate of 9.9 percent in Feb. 2013 was higher than a 9.6 percent benchmark rate during the same month of 2012. In addition, the benchmarks in other key areas included:
BENCHMARKRATES AND DATA
Northwest Indiana (Region 1) recorded a 10.8 percent jobless rate in the month at hand, much higher than a 9.6 percent benchmark rate in Feb. 2012;
Northeast Indiana's (Region 3) residents experienced a modest jobless rise to 9.2 percent in Feb. 2013 compared to 8.8 percent during the benchmark month a year earlier;
Northern Tier (regions 1, 2 and 3 combined) sustained a jobless rate of 10.0 percent during the current month in relation to a benchmark rate of 9.3 percent during Feb. 2012;
Indiana's jobless rate in Feb. 2013 stood at 9.3 percent, once again higher than a 2012 benchmark rate of 8.8 percent; and
U.S. national jobless rate broke the mold by coming in lower in Feb. 2013 at 8.1 percent versus a benchmark of 8.7 percent during the second month of 2012.
For detailed labor force informationsee charts below.
IMPACT OF DOWNTURN UNLIKE PAST RECESSIONS; HERE'S WHY GLOBAL RESTRUCTURING IS HAPPENING, THUS INFUSING GAME-CHANGING FORCESo is employment and economic recovery near for Northern Indiana? While numbers are better, many problems nonetheless remain in global markets, including the U.S. budget deficit and troubling amounts of debt some European nations have accumulated. For instance, governments in Greece, Spain, Ireland and Portugal, in particular, are facing severely bloated public payrolls and sub- stantial tax evasion by citizens.In today's Internet Age that allows instantaneous global e-commerce, what happens in Europe and elsewhere matters to Northern Indiana's economy, which is inter- twined with global markets.
Many Northern Indiana employers seek to export goods and services to overseas markets, including Europe, so conditions in the European Union and Euro Zone do matter to the local economy. But global factors beyond e-commerce and exports also are in the mix of conditons that impact Northern Indiana.
Psychology is important in the workings of stock and bond markets in the United States and across the global economy. Thus, if the perception and psychology of Europe's economic and debt conditions continues to sour, including Britain, those factors will affect Northern Indiana via the ripple effects of the global economy.
41,936
NORTHERN TIERTOTALS
NOTES: *Estimate **Revised ***Benchmark ****Rates are not seasonally adjusted.SOURCE: Indiana Department of Workforce Development, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
REBUILDING EMPLOYMENT IN NORTHERN INDIANAWlILL OCCUR AS DEMAND FOR GOODS, SERVICES GROWS he regional economy in north-central Indiana operates within the U.S. and global marketplaces, although substantial gains in regional employment will lag behind overall improvements in the national and global economic landscapes. For in- stance, banks across the United States gradually increased their lending to small and medium-sized businesses during 2009, so credit markets moved onto a road to functioning in a predictable manner.
Yet when the economy rapidly fell into a crisis and credit makets froze during late 2008, some Northern Indiana firms were forced to close permanently in part because they were unable to secure short-term loans to fund their payrolls. And other em- ployers took a route of significantly reducing their workforces. So as national and global economic conditions brighten, lost jobs in Northern Indiana won't be revived right away. New hiring across the region will occur as companies secure higher demand for their goods and services. Moreover, a process featuring increased hiring spurred by growth in demand individually for employers and collectively for the region will happen incrementally over months.
In another factor encouraging recovery, some employers in Northern Indiana have maximized, for the most part, their cost-cutting efforts, meaning that if they seek growth during the near term they will have to add workers.
The deep recession that plagued Northern Indiana, and elsewhere, struck with such force in part because numerous negative factors occurred at the same time in lots of places in the United States and around the globe.
OUT-OF-WORK HOOSIER? TAP INTO WORKONE'SEXPERTISE IN TRAINING, TECH, COMMUNICATION & SKILLS A confluence of ills included: U.S. housing bubble bursting; evaporation of credit once provided to homeowners and busi- nesses; Wall Street's meltdown and government rescue of big banks; risky behavior and build-up of enormous liabilities by AIG and other companies; entrenched global inefficiencies in energy use; the U.S. military's deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan; bankruptcies of once-iconic American automakers; and structural changes in economies across the globe (in other words, forces occurred to make the world flat), among other factors.
New hiring likely will lag other advances in the economy; nonetheless, an out-of-work Hoosier can take actions now to bolster his or her skills and seek work. For individuals at this juncture, WorkOne Northern Indiana can provide lots of help.
N. INDIANA'S REGIONAL ECONOMY INTERTWINES WITHGLOBAL MARKETS SHANGHAI TO SYDNEY TO SCOTLAND key factor of the recession, which began in December 2007, was the global-and-simultaneous nature of the downturn. The entire worldwide economy was expected during 2009 to shrink possibly by up to 3 percent for the first time since the late 1940s in the wake of World War II. Two international organizations, the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Devel-opment, issued a forecast in March '09 that worldwide production of goods and services most likely would recede during 2009. The significance for Northern Indiana is that many companies and organizations across the five-county region seek to sell products and services in foreign markets, meaning that economic trends from Shanghai, China, to Sydney, Australia, to Scotland's capital of Edinburgh in Britain, are important for Northern Indiana.
key factor of the recession, which began in December 2007, was the global-and-simultaneous nature of the downturn. The entire worldwide economy was expected during 2009 to shrink possibly by up to 3 percent for the first time since the late 1940s in the wake of World War II. Two international organizations, the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Devel-opment, issued a forecast in March '09 that worldwide production of goods and services most likely would recede during 2009.
The significance for Northern Indiana is that many companies and organizations across the five-county region seek to sell products and services in foreign markets, meaning that economic trends from Shanghai, China, to Sydney, Australia, to Scotland's capital of Edinburgh in Britain, are important for Northern Indiana.
WORKONE'S EXPERTISE FEATURES INSIGHTSINTO JOB SKILLS DEMANDED BY REGIONAL EMPLOYERS Northern Indiana's economy has under- gone structural transformations since 2008. The region now is immersed in the Information Age and traditional manufac- turing is a legacy of the past. In north-central Indiana, most sectors, including advanced manufacturing, healthcare, fi- nancial services, auto maintenance, retail and hospitality, as well as other sectors, all have retooled to base their operations on computers, software and the Internet. Furthermore, moves by employers to change their operational foundations, in turn, have mandated that Hoosiers seeking to work for them likewise need to acquire and maintain up-to-date skills in com- puters, software, Internet, and others.
Yet out-of-work Hoosiers can act to im- prove their skills now in preparing for eventual full recovery; in other words, individuals who act to complete job training programs now will be in a good spot to catch attention when Northern Indiana employers restart hiring in force and they most certainly will do so. Thus, Work- One is the best place for Hoosiers to get help with assessing their job skills and developing a plan to improve their abilities in order to secure work.
Staffers of WorkOne Northern Indiana (Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, Marshall, and St. Joseph counties) use all funding, legal, technology, counseling and other tools provided by federal and state goverments to assist Hoosiers who are out of work.
WORKONE'SEFFORTS FOR HOOSIERS
insights of skills sought by Northern Indiana employers when they evaluate job applicants;
career counseling, including providing clear-eyed assess-ments of a person's skills;
strategies to prepare an accurate resume targeting duties of an open job;
why networking with pro- fessionals and educators is important, and how to build a network;
techniques to perform well in a job interview with em-phasis on proper and robust preparation;
access to computers, soft-ware and online training; and
education and training in technical- and soft-skills.
WORKONE RISES TO OCCASION BY BOOSTINGSERVICES TO COMPANIES, INDIVIDUALS he region's unemployment level can be explained in part by recognizing the interconnected nature of Northern Indiana's economy with numerous factors, including: troubles in major U.S. industries such as financial services and banking, residential and commercial real estate and construction, automobile manu- facturing, and retail; decreased demand for goods and services by consumers, companies and governments worldwide; and, among other factors, doom-and-gloom psychology during a global recession.
During recovery in north-central Indiana, WorkOne has acted to strengthen services to Hoosiers, in- cluding revamping organizational and operational structures with a mandate to boost customer ser- vice as well as provide enhanced training work- shops to help individuals improve their job skills.
All of WorkOne's courses are free of charge to Hoosiers.
In addition, WorkOne collaborates with Ivy Tech Community College, IUSB, Vin- cennes University and other institutions to help get Hoosiers on a training path leading toward new careers. Moreover, WorkOne managers have developed many instructor-led and online, self-paced courses that focus on helping individuals improve abilities in areas such as: preparing online and paper resumes; understanding basics of using a personal computer; learning up-to-the-minute job-search skills; handling phone and face-to-face interviews with employers; grasping the importance for all job seekers of networking; using computer software programs; using math skills in the workplace setting; com- municating effectively; and other topics.
28,295
10.3%
22,874
NOTES: *Estimate **Revised ***Benchmark ****Population over 25,000 *****Rates are not seasonally adjusted.SOURCE: Indiana Department of Workforce Development, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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