PORTER COUNTY LABOR MARKET PROFILEPorter County is located in Northwest Indiana. The county is bordered on the south by Jasper County. The County is adjacent to LaPorte County on the east, Lake Michigan is to the north, and Lake County to the west. Porter 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.
Porter County’s population estimate for 2006 was 160,105, up 9.1 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, 83,372 people twenty-five years of age and over were high school high school graduates and/or had post-high school education. This amount represented 88.3 percent of Porter County’s twenty-five and over population. For the twenty-five years of age and over population, 21,341 or 22.6 percent were four-year college graduates or higher, ranking Porter County 10th highest among Indiana counties for percentage of this population who were college graduates or higher. For the 2004-2005 school year, 1,724 persons graduated high school and 1,460 or 84.7 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pagePorter County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2006 was 4.4 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 82,916. Of that labor force, 79,286 were employed and 3,630 were unemployed. Porter County’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 2.7 percent in 2000. The rate rose to 5.1 percent by 2003.
Labor force pageIn 2005 persons living in but commuting to work out of Porter County was 34,528 or 33.7 percent of the labor force. Approximately 66.3 percent of Porter County’s working residents work in the county. The area outside Porter 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 14,012 or 17.1 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the county to work was Lake County.
Commutting pageIn 2006, Porter County businesses had an average of 55,576 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 44.1 percent of the county’s 2006 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Manufacturing with 9,023 jobs, accounting for 16.2 percent of total employment. Total covered employment was up 6.2 percent between 2002 and 2006. Construction showed the most job growth between 2002 and 2006, increasing 952 jobs or 26.8 percent. Health Care & Social Assistance was second, adding 808 jobs or 20.5 percent. Administrative and Waste Services had the largest percentage gain at 32.0 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2006 earnings for Porter County was $36,747 per year versus Indiana’s $36,411. The average industry wage rose by $4,379 or 13.5 percent from 2002 to 2006. The Manufacturing industry had the highest average earnings at $68,492 per year, with the Management of Companies and Enterprises industry second at $58,560, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $10,562. Per capita income for 2005 was $35,605 in Porter County, up 44.6 percent since 1995.
Industry earnings pagePorter County has 3,492 firms, with 87 firms or about 2.5 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 71.3 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers rose by 9.6 per cent or 219 firms between 1999 and 2006 to total 2,491 firms in 2006.
Firms page