Anderson.

• Author: Ritchey, Barry C.

Employment is a central issue for the city of Anderson and Madison County. More specifically, for more than sixty years, automotive manufacturing employment has been the center of our economic base. After twenty-five years of decline, however, the automotive manufacturing industry has finally closed its doors on Anderson.

Due primarily to the decline in the auto industry, employment in Madison County has been falling over recent years. Ten years ago, there were 47,488 jobs in the county, with 12,246 of these jobs in manufacturing. As recently as 2006, there were 41,225 jobs in the county and only 5,901 of them were in manufacturing. Those figures translate into a 13 percent decrease in overall employment and a 52 percent decrease in manufacturing employment. Figure I shows manufacturing as a percent of total nonfarm employment in Anderson and Indiana since 1997. No employment categories in the area show significant gains over the past four years. Consequently, unemployment in the city and the county is running far above normal. From January to August 2007, unemployment in the county averaged 6.9 percent while unemployment in the city of Anderson was 7.8 percent.

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The decline in employment has led to declines in other areas that measure the economic condition of the community. Income levels are lagging behind the rest of Indiana. Average earnings in Madison County for 2006 are only 88 percent of average earnings for the state. The housing market has shown the impact of both local and national turmoil. The number of housing permits issued last year fell to only 328 for the county. This number is far below historic averages. In addition, the industrial tax base has been falling, causing residential property taxes to rise. On another measure, population projections indicate a declining population for the county.

The problem with relying on these types of statistics as diagnostic tools is that they represent too much of the past and not enough of the future of Anderson. The current numbers now only serve to set a benchmark for the Anderson of the future.

The Anderson of the past is behind us, and the city of Anderson is being redefined. For the first time in decades, the people of Anderson have the opportunity to create the Anderson they want without interference from auto industry leaders in Michigan.

Recreating Anderson does have its obstacles. The auto industry left us with an economic and cultural legacy that must change...