The Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning issed its unemployment and jobs report for the month of December.  The number of jobs created during the month was 200,000, which marked the 6th straight month that more than 100,000 jobs have been added.  In addition, the unemployment rate fell from a revised 8.7% in November to 8.5%, which is the lowest rate since February of 2009.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) earlier this week released its unemployment report for the month of November.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics had earlier released its own report showing that the national unemployment rate had dipped to 8.6% after being at 9.0% in October.  For November, the State of Indiana rate stayed at 9.0%, while the Starke County rate increased slightly from 10.3% up to 10.5%.  In a mixed bag of reporting, about half of all Indiana counties saw some increase in their rate from October, and about the same number saw a decrease.  On the national level, 42 states reported a decrease, 3 went up, and 4 stayed the same.

Congressman Joe Donnelly has announced an event to be held on Friday, January 12, 2012 entitled "Access to Capital: Leveling the Playing Field".  The event will be held from 8:30 am to 10:30 am EST in the 3rd Floor Boardroom at Innovation Park, located at 1400 East Angela Boulevard in South Bend.  Registration will begin at 8:30 am, with a panel discusssion and question and answer session set to begin at 9:00 am.

While free, space is limited, so to register for the event, send an email to Jorge Ortiz at Jorge.Ortiz@mail.house.gov by Friday, January 6, 2012.  That email should include your complete name, company name, address and telephone number.  The event is being held to help understand about applying for loans in a tight credit market.

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued its jobs report for the month of November, finding that the unemployment rate for the country has fallen for the second month in a row, and has reached its lowest point since March of 2009.  The rate for November is 8.6%, down from 9.0% registered in October.  An additional 120,000 jobs were added in the month, up from October's total of 80,000.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has released its unemployment report for the month of October.  A total of 71 of Indiana's 92 counties saw an increase in their rate from the September report, including Starke County.  The rate for Starke County increased from 10.1% to 10.3%, putting the rate back to where it was in August of this year.  The rate for the State of Indiana also increased to 9.0%, which matches the national unemployment rate for the month of October.

Indiana continues to have the lowest rate in the Midwest region, tying Ohio, while being considerably lower than Michigan, Illinois, and Kentucky.

The Department of Labor this morning issued their unemployment report for the month of October.  New jobs cretaed during the month fell short of most estimates, as only 80,000 new jobs were reported.  However, the unemployment rate fell from 9.1% to 9.0%.

While the U.S. and State of Indiana unemployment rates either went up or stayed the same for September, the Indiana office of Workforce Development (DWD), in a report issued this morning, found that the Starke County rate went down to 10.1% from 10.3% in August.  The U.S. rate remained at 9.1% and the Indiana rate went up from 8.7% to 8.9%.  However, Indiana remained at a lower rate than any of the four contigious states for the 8th consecutive month.  Those states have a range of 9.8% up to 11.9%.

The Starke County rate is now down from 12.1% recorded in January of this year and is the second month in a row that it has been down from the previous month.

The Starke County Initiative for Lifelong Learning, (SCILL), which was established by the Starke County Economic Development Foundation (SCEDF) to help prepare the residents of Starke County for entry into the workforce, has announced its annual coat drive.  From now until November 18, 2011, new or gently used coats may be dropped off at one of several drop-off sites throughout the county, incluidng the following:

North Judson

     Ray's Super Foods

     Pioneer Florist

     Bailey's Discount Center

Knox

     KeyBank

     Five Star Grocery

     Sears

Hamlet

     Oregon-Davis High School

The collected coats will be cleaned as needed and then distribution sites announced where members of the public may pick up a coat as needed.  This is an annual event sponsored by the SCILL Center and students enrolled in the Automobile Technology Program help with the event.

Eugene E. Marks, a fourteen-year member of the Board of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation (SCEDF), has passed away at the age of 80 in North Judson, Indiana.  Gene not only gave great service to SCEDF, he also for many years served as an official in several high school sporting events.  He was chosen several times to work the Indiana High School State Championship games in boys basketball.  He was well-known throughout the State for his work, was a true gentleman, and was highly admired by sports fans, especially in Starke County.  Gene leaves behind his wife, Marlene, a daughter, Jeanine Browning, and four sons, Jerry, Jon, Jeff, and Jay Marks.  Visitation will be held after 11:00 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, October 20, 2011 at the O'Donnell Funeral Home in North Judson, Indiana, where services will be held at 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the North Judson United Methodist Church or to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital.

In an announcement released yesterday, John A. Eckert, a student at North Judson-San Pierre High School, was one of about 16,000 students nationwide that have been named Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.  About 1.5 million students across the country begin the process by taking a qualifying test. The Semifinalists will continue on in the program for the awarding of scholarship aid.  Congratulations to Mr. Eckert for this impressive achievement.