September Unemployment Rate at 4.5%10/24/2017 The Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics have released the September Unemployment Report. The September rate for Huntington County was reported at 4.5% up from 4.4% in August. Several factors are worth noting: 1. *The reporting period includes temporary, planned lay-offs of nearly 150 at Continental Structural Plastics (CSP). Those lay-offs were timed with the installation of new manufacturing equipment as part of their $33.5 million expansion, which will create 157 new jobs when operational. 2 *The reporting period also includes temporary, seasonal lay-offs at Onward Mfg. 3. It *There were 6 more people listed among the Unemployed in September compared to August. Again that’s 6 more people. 5. * * The reporting period also covers routine seasonal changes as school went back into session (the reporting period is from August 11-September 10) which also distorts the picture. The following companies in Huntington County are currently hiring: *Auto Truck Group *Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems *Continental Structural Plastics *Dean Foods *Echo Lake Foods *Ecolab *Homier, LLC *Huntington Sheet Metal *Our Sunday Visitor *Novae *PHD *Transwheel *UTC 2017 expansions at Bendix and Incipio Devices also account for nearly 60 additional NEW job opportunities. "Given the continuing lay-offs at UTEC and the temporary statistics, I anticipate our unemployment rate will continue to be “somewhat elevated” over the next 2 reporting cycles, however, as CSP returns to production and begins hiring for their expansion, as well as the impact of other local job openings and regional announcements, I believe, absent any other “events”, the rate will re-stabilize late this year and during the early part of the 1st quarter," said Mark Wickersham, executive director of the Huntington County Economic Development Corporation. Click Here to read the Unemployment Report