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Two pockets of northern Indiana sit less than 50 miles apart yet represent opposite economic trends: Over the last year, the Elkhart metro area saw the country’s largest percentage gain in employment, while greater Michigan City ranked second in job losses.
Jobs around Elkhart grew by 5.3 percent from November 2016 to November 2017 and shrank by 3.6 percent in greater Michigan City, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The numbers reveal that inequality persists at a time when the country's unemployment keeps falling — even among neighbors.
Not that the Michigan City-La Porte region, as defined by the BLS, is suffering — the unemployment rate is 4.2 percent, barely higher than the national rate of 4.1 percent. But the area is losing more workers than it’s hiring, making it an anomaly at a time of steady job growth.
Part of what's driving this trend is common in areas outside big cities: The population has stayed flat for two decades. La Porte County has inched up from 110,000 in 1998 to nearly 111,000 today. Meanwhile, the population is slowly aging. (The median age is 40, higher than the nation's 38.)
Economists say labor shortages can stall business growth and reduce productivity. Fewer people with disposable income can also lead to less spending, which takes a toll on local shops and restaurants.
Not enough young people are moving to the Michigan City area to replace the workers retiring from its major employers, which include a casino, two hospitals and a corrections department. That shaves numbers off the region's employment total, too.
“There’s not much population growth, and that’s one of our issues,” said Clarence Hulse, executive Director at Economic Development Corporation Michigan City. “We’re working to attract more people to the community.”
Professional and business services jobs — a broad range of positions, from secretaries to accountants to top managers — have fallen in the area by 13.8 percent, from 2,900 to 2,500 over the last year, the BLS data found. Government jobs, including public teachers, have also dropped by 7.4 percent.
That's partly because of budget cuts and dwindling school enrollment, another consequence of population stagnation, Hulse said
Jobs around Elkhart grew by 5.3 percent from November 2016 to November 2017 and shrank by 3.6 percent in greater Michigan City, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The numbers reveal that inequality persists at a time when the country's unemployment keeps falling — even among neighbors.
Not that the Michigan City-La Porte region, as defined by the BLS, is suffering — the unemployment rate is 4.2 percent, barely higher than the national rate of 4.1 percent. But the area is losing more workers than it’s hiring, making it an anomaly at a time of steady job growth.
Part of what's driving this trend is common in areas outside big cities: The population has stayed flat for two decades. La Porte County has inched up from 110,000 in 1998 to nearly 111,000 today. Meanwhile, the population is slowly aging. (The median age is 40, higher than the nation's 38.)
Economists say labor shortages can stall business growth and reduce productivity. Fewer people with disposable income can also lead to less spending, which takes a toll on local shops and restaurants.
Not enough young people are moving to the Michigan City area to replace the workers retiring from its major employers, which include a casino, two hospitals and a corrections department. That shaves numbers off the region's employment total, too.
“There’s not much population growth, and that’s one of our issues,” said Clarence Hulse, executive Director at Economic Development Corporation Michigan City. “We’re working to attract more people to the community.”
Professional and business services jobs — a broad range of positions, from secretaries to accountants to top managers — have fallen in the area by 13.8 percent, from 2,900 to 2,500 over the last year, the BLS data found. Government jobs, including public teachers, have also dropped by 7.4 percent.
That's partly because of budget cuts and dwindling school enrollment, another consequence of population stagnation, Hulse said