LAKE COUNTY LABOR MARKET PROFILELake County is located in Northwest Indiana. The county is bordered on the south by Newton and Jasper Counties. The County is adjacent to Porter County on the east, Lake Michigan is to the north, and The State of Illinois to the west. Lake 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.
Lake County’s population estimate for 2006 was 494,202, up 2.0 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, 250,349 people twenty-five years of age and over were high school high school graduates and/or had post-high school education. This amount represented 80.7 percent of Lake County’s twenty-five and over population. For the twenty-five years of age and over population, 50,307 or 16.2 percent were four-year college graduates or higher, ranking Lake County 21st highest among Indiana counties for percentage of this population who were college graduates or higher. For the 2004-2005 school year, 4,339 persons graduated high school and 3,773 or 87 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageLake County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2006 was 5.8 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 230,345. Of that labor force, 217,096 were employed and 13,249 were unemployed. Lake County’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 3.6 percent in 2000. The rate rose to 6.4 percent by 2002.
Labor force pageIn 2005 persons living in but commuting to work out of Lake County was 58,114 or 19.9 percent of the labor force. Approximately 80.1 percent of Lake County’s working residents work in the county. The area outside Lake County where the largest number of residents went to work was State of Illinois. In 2005 person commuting to work into the county from outside areas was 43,794 or 15.8 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the county to work was Porter County.
Commutting pageIn 2006, Lake County businesses had an average of 193,062 jobs. Three major industry sectors: Health Care & Social Assistance, Government (all levels), and Manufacturing dominated the county in terms of employment. These three industry sectors accounted for 42.7 percent of the county’s 2006 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Health Care & Social Assistance with 28,480 jobs, accounting for 14.8 percent of total employment. Total covered employment was up 1.9 percent between 2002 and 2006. Health Care & Social Assistance showed the most job growth between 2002 and 2006, increasing 2,698 jobs or 10.5 percent. Construction was second, adding 1,464 jobs or 12.9 percent. Educational Services had the largest percentage gain at 22.6 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2006 earnings for Lake County was $37,092 per year versus Indiana’s $36,411. The average industry wage rose by $4,645 or 14.3 percent from 2002 to 2006. The Management of Companies and Enterprises industry had the highest average earnings at $75,476 per year, with the Mining industry second at $65,825, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $11,839. Per capita income for 2005 was $29,136 in Lake County, up 40.3 percent since 1995.
Industry earnings pageLake County has 9,905 firms, with 299 firms or about 3.0 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 68.1 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers fell 5.4 per cent or 382 firms between 1999 and 2006 to total 6,742 firms in 2006.
Firms page