NEWTON COUNTY LABOR MARKET PROFILENewton County is located in Northwest Indiana. The county is bordered on the south by Benton County. The County is adjacent to Jasper County on the east, Lake County is to the north, and The State of Illinois to the west. Newton 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.
Newton County’s population estimate for 2008 was 13,933, down 4.3 percent from the 2000 Census total. During this same time period, Indiana’s total 2008 population estimate of 6,376,792 was up by 4.6 percent.
Population pageAccording to the 2000 Census, 7,536 people twenty-five years of age and over were high school high school graduates and/or had post-high school education. This amount represented 78.7 percent of Newton County’s twenty-five and over population. For the twenty-five years of age and over population, 920 or 9.6 percent were four-year college graduates or higher, ranking Newton County 80th highest among Indiana counties for percentage of this population who were college graduates or higher. In 2007, 141 persons graduated high school and 104 or 73.8 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageNewton County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2008 was 6.2 percent, above Indiana’s annual average of 5.9 percent. The county’s unemployment rate was based on an estimated average residential labor force of 7,024. Of that labor force, 6,586 were employed and 438 were unemployed. Newton County’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 2.9 percent in 2000. The rate rose to 6.2 percent by 2008.
Labor force pageIn 2007 persons living in but commuting to work out of Newton County was 3,766 or 38.8 percent of the labor force. Approximately 61.2 percent of Newton County’s working residents work in the county. The area outside Newton County where the largest number of residents went to work was Lake County. In 2007 person commuting to work into the county from outside areas was 1,414 or 19.2 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the county to work was State of Illinois.
Commutting pageIn 2008, Newton County businesses had an average of 3,867 jobs. Three major industry sectors: Manufacturing, Government (all levels), and Educational Services dominated the county in terms of employment. These three industry sectors accounted for 56.8 percent of the county’s 2008 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Manufacturing with 865 jobs, accounting for 22.4 percent of total employment. Total covered employment was down 8.3 percent between 2004 and 2008. Wholesale Trade showed the most job growth between 2004 and 2008, increasing 84 jobs or 36.2 percent. Transportation and Warehousing was second, adding 50 jobs or 32.7 percent. Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing had the largest percentage gain at 133.3 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2008 earnings for Newton County was $30,984 per year versus Indiana’s $38,405. The average industry wage rose by $3,698 or 13.6 percent from 2004 to 2008. The Wholesale Trade industry had the highest average earnings at $61,714 per year, with the Administrative and Waste Services industry second at $53,500, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation at $7,076. Per capita income for 2007 was $28,576 in Newton County, up 32.2 percent since 2002.
Industry earnings pageNewton County has 326 firms, with 7 firms or about 2.1 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 76.4 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers grew by 10.2 per cent or 23 firms between 1999 and 2008 to total 249 firms in 2008.
Firms page