Sep. 6--IMA -- It's no secret that the economy has taken some hits in the past year. Nationally, declines in the stock market and housing have been main drivers in the recession, but closer to home, it is all about jobs. A quick look at the second quarter economic indicators show what area experts have been telling us for some time. Traditional indicators such as housing sales and the number of building permits issued are down from where they were last year, but have taken nowhere near the hit recorded from major metropolitan areas and markets on the West and South coasts.

At the same time, unemployment has nearly doubled in some parts of the region. In Van Wert County, where a large part of the workforce depends on the struggling recreational vehicle industry, unemployment rose to 15.1 percent in April. That translates to 2,500 jobless people out of a workforce of just 16,300.

Compare that to Mercer County, where a 9.1 percent unemployment rate ranks as the region's lowest. That county has 2,300 people out of work, but the workforce is comprised of more than 25,000.

Jobless rates hovered around 10 and 11 percent throughout most of the region, driven largely by declines in the automobile industry and the manufacturers who supply it. Those numbers are bad enough on their own, but compare them to a year ago, when the regional unemployment rate was just 5.5 percent, and the problem becomes obvious.

"It's just bad. There's nothing else you can say about it, it's bad," said Marcel Wagner, president of Allen Economic Development Group.

Regionally, the number of unemployed nearly doubled over the past year. The number of jobless people in the nine-county region rose from 13,600 in the second quarter of 2008, to 28,400 in the same quarter of this year. If anything positive can be made of it, it's that those losses include a lot of skilled workers from the region's manufacturers, meaning we have a ready workforce when the economy turns around.

"It's one of those good news/bad news things," Wagner said. "It's terrible because it puts a lot of people in hardship, however it does allow us to promote that we have a strong supply of qualified people ready to work for companies interested in locating here."

There are signs that the region could be rebounding from the recession. Real estate agents are reporting an increase in home sales in the past three months and car dealers had one of their best months in at least two years this August, though both spikes could be attributed to the success of government stimulus programs designed as temporary aids.

Wagner said he is seeing other signs of progress in his office. Retailers and manufacturers, while not announcing any big moves, are asking questions and shopping around. Wagner said he thinks many of them are doing their homework now so they will be ready to take advantage of the economic rebound when it comes.

"From what we've seen, particularly over the last six weeks, it seems we are in an upward movement. We've seen a lot of people just looking this year, responding to our advertising and saying that as things turn they may be moving on something," Wagner said.

"I think there's a lot of preparation going on, and when these companies do decide to move on something, I think we're in a good position to attract them here."

You can comment

on this story at

www.limaohio.com.

-----

To see more of The Lima News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.limanews.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Lima News, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.