By Daniel Human
Kokomo Tribune
Kokomo — A handful more people went back to work in July in the Kokomo metro area, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The department released unemployment estimates Friday, which showed the Kokomo metro area — Howard and Tipton counties — had an unemployment rate of 12.1 percent in July. That is down from 12.4 percent in June and from 14.4 percent in July 2009.
The state reports the city of Kokomo had a higher unemployment rate than the two-county area’s rate at 13.9 percent. A total 2,679 members of the city’s work force of 19,320 are unemployed, according to estimates.
The city has the fourth highest unemployment rate among cities of more than 25,000 residents. Howard County, at 12.5 percent joblessness in July, was fifth highest among Indiana’s 92 counties.
The reports also show manufacturing was Indiana’s second-largest area of job growth at 4,300 new positions. It fell behind private education and health services, which had 4,600 new jobs.
For more of this story, read Saturday’s issue of the Kokomo Tribune.
• Daniel Human is the Kokomo Tribune business reporter. He can
be reached at 765-454-8570 or at
daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.
