http://www.chestertontribune.com/Business/...s_in_the_st.htm

They're not adding retail shops and part timers fast enough.

The thing is, the government (or anyone else) does not know what the true unemployment rate is. All they can go by is look at who has filed for unemployment (or continues to collect unemployment benefits).

So people who are unable to collect unemployment will not be counted. Who are the people who cannot file for unemployment? Here is a partial list:

• Business owners whose businesses went belly up, and trying to find a job
• People entering the workforce for the first time (school graduates; women entering the workforce due to divorce or death of a spouse)
• Veterans
• People whose benefits have expired
• People who are ineligible for unemployment
• People entering the workforce after a long illness
• Retirees who need to find a job

The only thing for certain is that the "official" unemployment rate is the bare minimum.

The only way to know for certain what the true unemployment rate is, is to go door-to-door to ask the residents, "are you unemployed?"

A question for those of you who live in Michigan City.

It is interesting to note that nearby localities, like Chesterton, Valparaiso, and Hammond all have significantly lower unemployment numbers. Any idea as to why that is?

I don't live in the area any more and I am surprised that the difference is so high.

In Chesterton the unemployment rate in June increased to 6.0 percent, from 5.8 percent in May

In Valparaiso the unemployment rate in June rose by nearly half a point, to 5.8 percent from 5.4 percent in May

In Portage the unemployment rate in June dipped to 7.9 percent, from 8.1 percent in May

In Hammond the rate rose by fully half a point, to 8.6 percent from 8.1 percent in May


Why is MC so much higher than Chesterton?

Those nearby localities don't have riverboats.

Because the people who live in those communities have all the jobs in Michigan City. At my plant, less than 40% of our employees actually live in Michigan City. We employ almost 150 people, and only about 50 of them live in 'City. The rest live in LaPorte, Westville, Valpo, Portage, Chesteron, Rolling, New Carlisle, and points even farther...some in Michigan, some in Lake Co. IN. Even I don't live in Michigan City.
Why? Because very few people who live in Michigan City and apply to work here can pass our pre-employment tests, or drug tests, or physical exams.
And I have no idea the "why" for that...

It was the same way when I worked at ANCO, especially when it came to upper and middle management. Most were sent from corporate to fill a position, when they were promoted to another plant they would leave and the time that they worked here they commuted to and from places like Granger.

I'm the opposite. I haven't worked in Michigan City since 1998.