No sign yet that Indiana recession is over.

• Position: Indiana Indicators

The recession of 2001 has been disproportionately harsh to the Indiana economy. Even among our similarly blue-collar neighbors around us, Indiana's experience in this economic downturn stands out.

The state's payroll employment in July was down by 81,100 jobs from the 12 months ending in July 2000. Our neighbors to the north, east and west registered slightly lower total job losses over the last two years even though they're more populous, and Kentucky actually gained jobs. In percentage terms, the 2.7 percent job loss in Indiana during this recession has been significantly worse than the 1.7 percent job decline in Michigan, the next worst state.

That should be a concern for state leaders. Research reports of recent years have revealed differences between Indiana and its Midwest neighbors in terms of occupational mix, educational attainment and prevalence of corporate headquarters. The downturn of 2001 has proven to be particularly rough for our niche.

There's been no sign of an end to that downturn yet. Even though we can expect the state economy to recover along with that of the nation, the problems that this recession has revealed will remain.

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Latest Previous Year Percent Period Period Ago Change Employment (000) U.S. Jul. 02 130,774.0 130,768.0 132,045.0 -1.0...