Terre Haute.

• Author: Smith, James C.
• Position: Economic outlook for Terre Haute, Indiana - Brief Article

Terre Haute was one of the first Indiana metropolitan areas to feel the effects of the 2001-2002 recession. The level of payroll employment in Terre Haute declined steadily beginning in early 2001. The recession is likely to be more severe in the Terre Haute area than in most other parts of the state.

To see why, look first at the area's population growth. The Terre Haute metropolitan area, which includes Vigo, Clay and Vermillion counties, managed almost no population growth in the ten years between the 1990 census and the 2000 census. The latest census found 149,192 people in the metro area, up just 1 percent over 1990.

Then note the downward trend in the number of jobs in the area (see Figure 1). From its most recent peak in November 2000, the metro area lost 2,600 jobs by the end of September. In fact, employment in Terre Haute and surrounding counties at the end of the third quarter of 2001 was 5 percent less than it was in 1995.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

As you might expect, these two factors combine to produce unemployment. In the third quarter of 2001, the Terre Haute metro area averaged a 4.7 percent unemployment rate, second highest after Kokomo among all Indiana metro areas. The statewide average for the quarter was 4 percent.

Consequently, though the recession nationwide in 2002 is predicted to be a mild one, it is likely that the Terre Haute metro area will experience more than the average level of pain. We can expect unemployment rates near 7 percent by the middle of 2002...