JASPER COUNTY LABOR MARKET PROFILEJasper County is located in Northwest Indiana. The county is bordered on the south by Benton and White Counties. The County is adjacent to Starke and Pulaski Counties on the east, Lake and Porter Counties are to the north, and Newton County to the west. Jasper County is one of the seven counties located in the area designated by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development as Indiana Economic Growth Region 1.
Jasper County’s population estimate for 2006 was 32,296, up 7.5 percent from the 2000 Census total. During this same time period, Indiana’s total 2006 population estimate of 6,313,520 was up by 3.8 percent.
Population pageAccording to the 2000 Census, 15,588 people twenty-five years of age and over were high school high school graduates and/or had post-high school education. This amount represented 83.1 percent of Jasper County’s twenty-five and over population. For the twenty-five years of age and over population, 2,437 or 13 percent were four-year college graduates or higher, ranking Jasper County 43rd highest among Indiana counties for percentage of this population who were college graduates or higher. For the 2004-2005 school year, 293 persons graduated high school and 243 or 82.9 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageJasper County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2006 was 5.1 percent, above Indiana’s annual average of 5.0 percent. The county’s unemployment rate was based on an estimated average residential labor force of 15,526. Of that labor force, 14,739 were employed and 787 were unemployed. Jasper County’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 3.3 percent in 2000. The rate rose to 5.7 percent by 2002.
Labor force pageIn 2005 persons living in but commuting to work out of Jasper County was 6,179 or 29.4 percent of the labor force. Approximately 70.6 percent of Jasper County’s working residents work in the county. The area outside Jasper County where the largest number of residents went to work was Lake County. In 2005 person commuting to work into the county from outside areas was 2,910 or 16.4 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the county to work was Newton County.
Commutting pageIn 2006, Jasper County businesses had an average of 12,185 jobs. Three major industry sectors: Government (all levels), Manufacturing, and Retail Trade dominated the county in terms of employment. These three industry sectors accounted for 40.7 percent of the county’s 2006 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Government (all levels) with 1,919 jobs, accounting for 15.7 percent of total employment.
Total covered employment was up 15.8 percent between 2002 and 2006. Transportation and Warehousing showed the most job growth between 2002 and 2006, increasing 351 jobs or 80.5 percent. Health Care & Social Assistance was second, adding 334 jobs or 59.6 percent. Transportation and Warehousing had the largest percentage gain at 80.5 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2006 earnings for Jasper County was $30,376 per year versus Indiana’s $36,411. The average industry wage rose by $2,858 or 10.4 percent from 2002 to 2006. The Wholesale Trade industry had the highest average earnings at $42,028 per year, with the Professional and Technical Services industry second at $41,894, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $9,336.
Per capita income for 2005 was $27,250 in Jasper County, up nearly 45 percent since 1995.
Industry earnings pageJasper County has 828 firms, with 24 firms or about 2.9 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 72.2 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers rose 5.7 per cent or 32 firms between 1999 and 2006 to total 598 firms in 2006.
Firms page