State unemployment hits 8.2 percent

The unemployment rate in the nation was 7.2 percent in December. Indiana’s was a full percent higher.

More than 260,000 Hoosiers were unemployed in December, bringing the unemployment rate in Indiana to 8.2 percent.

Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Teresa Voors said in a Jan. 27 statement that this leap is a combination of construction, retail and manufacturing. The Department of Workforce Development has already begun assisting Indiana citizens by helping Hoosiers file for unemployment.

Marc Lotter, spokesman for the Department of Workforce Development, attributed this unemployment rise mostly to the decline in manufacturing.

While retail has suffered throughout the nation and construction habitually slows in the winter months, the decline in Indiana’s manufacturing industry has severely affected the state, Lotter said.

“Indiana has the highest manufacturing of any state,” Lotter said. “No state in the nation has the same concentration as northern Indiana, and it’s had a devastating impact.”

Elkhart County is located in northern Indiana, where recreational vehicle manufacturing is a dominant economic player. Last December the county reported a 15.3 percent unemployment rate – the highest in Indiana – according to numbers the U.S. Department of Labor released in January.

The department has teamed up with various organizations in order to help Hoosiers with the unemployment process.

The Department of Workforce Development started a partnership with the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the Indiana State Library to provide computers and training to groups interested in helping Indiana residents file for unemployment.

After filing for unemployment, residents are eligible for a certain amount of benefits. The amount of benefits received is based on various factors including the amount of money earned while at the person’s former job, length of service and ability to continue looking for another job, Lotter said.

“The most anyone could qualify for is 59 weeks of unemployment with a maximum of $390 a week,” Lotter said.

Senior Philip Snodgrass said he believes the current unemployment policy is sufficient during these struggling economic times.

“Congress shouldn’t make it easier to collect checks while we are in a recession,” Snodgrass said. “It defeats the purpose.”