Economy hitting Indiana where it hurts.

• Author: Barkey, Patrick M.
• Position: Indiana Indicators

There's really only one surefire way to get the Indiana economy going again, at least in the short run. That's to light a fire under the U.S. economy, particularly the industrial sector.

We thought that was happening as recently as June. A surprisingly strong first-quarter expansion in the economy seemed to lift the tide in the industrial economy, ending a long, painful decline that had reduced output by 8 percent and destroyed nearly two million factory jobs. In the first six months of 2002 factory output grew back by nearly 3 percent, and manufacturers saw a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

That hope has all but vanished today. The midsummer pause in factory production's rebound has turned worse with each new report. Manufacturing output contracted by 0.3 percent in September, the second consecutive month of significant decline.

A contraction in factory output spells trouble for the Indiana economy, the most manufacturing-intensive in the nation. But, for now, there's nothing much state leaders can do but hope that the flame can somehow be re-lit.

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Latest Previous Period Period Employment (000) U.S. Sep. 02 130,854.0 130,897.0 Indiana Sep. 02 2,921.8 2,889.4 Manufacturing Employment (000) U.S. Sep. 02 16,644.0 16,679.0 Indiana Sep. 02 621.8 623.7 Non-Manufacturing Employment (000) U.S. Sep. 02 114,210.0 114,218.0 Indiana Sep. 02 2,300.0 2,265.7 Unemployment Rates (Percent) U.S. Sep. 02 5.6 5.7 Indiana...