Jun. 20--The recession that bit viciously into the economy last fall and spit thousands of Indiana residents out on the unemployment lines shows little sign of easing.

On the contrary, experts say double-digit jobless rates could persist into next spring, peaking in Indiana at about 11.5 percent.

Indiana's unemployment rate rose in May to 10.6 percent from 9.9 percent in April, government labor market analysts reported Friday. It was the seventh straight month that the state's jobless rate has been 7 percent or higher. The national rate in May was 9.4 percent.

"It's a little early to say it's improving. What we have seen in numerous bits of financial data is a slowing down of the rate of decrease in the economy. But you can't conclude that things are getting better just because they are not getting worse anymore," said Robert Neal, a finance professor at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis.

The rising rates contrast with the views expressed last fall as Wall Street collapsed, setting off a global credit crisis that hammered the nation and contributed to this spring's bankruptcy filings by General Motors and Chrysler.

Back then, economists figured clear signs of business recovery would have shown up by now. Today, there are some positive signs, but for the most part, Indiana and the industrial Midwest are still struggling. After the West, which had a 10.1 percent jobless rate, the Midwest ranked second-highest in the nation at 9.8 percent. The South's jobless rate was 8.9 percent. The Northeast had the lowest, 8.3 percent.

In the Midwest, that's partly because of the bankrupt automakers, and partly because of the extraordinary debt levels of consumers and corporations throughout the country.

"Consumer credit is still fairly restricted," said Sean Maher, Midwest regional economist for Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Pa. "For the most part, lenders are keeping standards very tight."

Though lending standards are tight, the city's commercial real estate market has not collapsed. Duke Realty reports a vacancy rate of only 7 percent in 28 million square feet of office, medical and industrial space it manages in the metro area. Still, profits are falling, and employers statewide are laying off workers.

Maher figures that will keep Indiana's jobless rate inching up, reaching 11.5 percent in the spring.

"Part of this recession all along has been attitude and behavior," said Sandra Herman, who lost her job in April when grants dried up and the homelessness agency she headed disbanded, putting her and a dozen co-workers out of jobs.