A more positive note.

• Position: Economic indicators - Indiana Indicators

Some highly visible economic indicators have provided grist for the media and pessimists to claim the recession still prevails. But some other key--but less conspicuous--figures provide signals of recovery, and moreover, the numbers from Indiana tell an even brighter story.

The U.S. unemployment rate of 7.1 percent in December marks a new recession high, and is more troublesome than the revised 6.9 percent rates reported the two previous months. Also, while total U.S. employment increased slightly in December, it still is down more than 200,000 workers from October's post-recession high and is just 100,000 workers above April's recession low.

But in Indiana, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped...