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 2006 was 14,293, down 1.9 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, 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. For the 2004-2005 school year, 165 persons graduated high school and 133 or 80.6 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageNewton County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2006 was 4.9 percent, below Indiana’s annual average of 5.0 percent. The county’s unemployment rate was based on an estimated average residential labor force of 7,236. Of that labor force, 6,879 were employed and 357 were unemployed. Newton County’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 2.9 percent in 2000. The rate rose to 5.5 percent by 2002.
Labor force pageIn 2005 persons living in but commuting to work out of Newton County was 3,743 or 39.2 percent of the labor force. Approximately 60.8 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 2005 person commuting to work into the county from outside areas was 1,486 or 20.4 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the county to work was State of Illinois.
Commutting pageIn 2006, Newton County businesses had an average of 4,318 jobs. Three major industry sectors: Manufacturing, Government (all levels), and Retail Trade dominated the county in terms of employment. These three industry sectors accounted for 57.9 percent of the county’s 2006 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Manufacturing with 1,304 jobs, accounting for 30.2 percent of total employment. Total covered employment was up 6.3 percent between 2002 and 2006. Health Care & Social Assistance showed the most job growth between 2002 and 2006, increasing 117 jobs or 100.9 percent. Manufacturing was second, adding 66 jobs or 5.3 percent. Health Care & Social Assistance had the largest percentage gain at 100.9 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2006 earnings for Newton County was $27,846 per year versus Indiana’s $36,411. The average industry wage rose by $2,305 or 9.0 percent from 2002 to 2006. The Wholesale Trade industry had the highest average earnings at $45,576 per year, with the Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting industry second at $34,608, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $7,857. Per capita income for 2005 was $24,940 in Newton County, up 41.2 percent since 1995.
Industry earnings pageNewton County has 305 firms, with 9 firms or about 3.0 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 72.1 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers fell 2.7 per cent or 6 firms between 1999 and 2006 to total 220 firms in 2006.
Firms page