Local jobless rate sees dip
Hits 4.8%, but region s labor force falls by 2,890 people
SHERRY SLATER | The Journal Gazette
The Fort Wayne MSA s jobless rate declined in November to 4.8%, slightly less than the 5.1% recorded in October, according to data released Monday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The unemployment rate was 3.1% in November 2019. Experts say year-to-year comparisons are the most accurate because they eliminate seasonal variations. The novel coronavirus pandemic and its effects on the labor market have upended that conventional wisdom, however.
The local metropolitan statistical area includes Allen, Wells and Whitley counties.
Indiana s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.0% in November, well below the national seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 6.7%. Experts say county and MSA data are too small to make seasonal adjustments.
Virus among Hispanics spurs student
ASHLEY SLOBODA | The Journal Gazette
Trine University student Nikolaos Rivera was inspired last summer by the issues he saw the Hispanic Leadership Coalition of Northeast Indiana address.
It fielded more requests for financial assistance, and it worked to educate its community about the importance of seeking medical treatment and following social distancing guidelines, according to a university news release.
That experience prompted Rivera, a coalition board member, to focus his honors research project on the coronavirus s effect on the region s Hispanic and Latino communities, the release said.
“I felt that the problems being tackled by the Hispanic and Latino communities were unique and nuanced among the general population,” Rivera said in a statement.
MANUFACTURED HOPE
Pop quiz!
1) What were Allen County s largest private-sector industries as measured by number of employees last year?
2) Did more Hoosiers work in manufacturing in 1990 or 2019?
3) Do local manufacturing workers make more or less than the average manufacturing wage in the United States?
Answers: Education and health care, 1990 and less than the national average. If you thought manufacturing, 2019 and more than average, it s not illogical.
Indiana s manufacturing employment and wage advantage is repeatedly touted by elected officials and business leaders alike, but a closer examination of the data shows our state and region s manufacturing dominance isn t quite as strong as it looks.
• Ivy Tech, $11,286.28
• Fort Wayne Dance Collective, $11,286.28
• The Impact Center, $3,000
The money comes from cable franchise fees included each month on residents cable bills. Under city ordinance, the city must budget two-fifths of all franchise fee dollars as “access dollars.”
The ordinance stipulates that 10% of the access dollars must go to organizations like those that were awarded grants Tuesday.
“These grants can be used in a variety of ways, as long as it relates to access television,” the Cable Fund Access Board s website states. “These grants can be used to reimburse personnel expenses, overhead costs, production costs, operation expenses and equipment expenses, as approved through the Cable Fund Advisory Board and City Council.”
Designation as Dr. earned - and deserved
MATTHEW LEBLANC | The Journal Gazette
They arrive, inevitably, each year.
The emails from students – mostly men – include questions about assignments and scheduling.
“Mrs. LeBlanc: How long should our papers be?”
“Ms. LeBlanc: Can I get an extension on that project due this week?”
Sarah Symonds LeBlanc, my wife, is an assistant professor at Purdue University Fort Wayne. She earned her doctoral degree in communication in 2012 from the University of Missouri.
She is Dr. LeBlanc. It says so at the top of the syllabus for each of the classes she teaches.
“I m a doctor who has to fight to be heard as a doctor,” she said this week.