The need to grow our labor force.

• Position: Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

In September, the seasonally unadjusted rate of unemployment in Indiana stood at 2.9 percent, a mark bettered by only 10 other states. Our job growth in the 12-month period ending in September was only 0.5 percent, however. Compared to the 2.0 percent growth in payrolls experienced nationally, this is clearly a sub-par performance.

But this has not been the case for most of the other states with low unemployment rates. In fact, out of the 10 states with lower unemployment rates than Indiana in September, only three have struggled with job growth in recent months. Both Minnesota and Iowa, for example, have lower unemployment rates than Indiana, yet they recorded job growth rates of 2.2 and 2.3 percent in September, respectively.

In Indiana, which had an unemployment rate higher than the nation for most of the 1970s and 1980s, we've usually faced the challenge of putting the people in the labor force to work.

The new challenge for the Indiana economy is to grow its labor force, as so many of the states we compete with have accomplished. More workers, and more highly skilled workers, are what is needed to keep the state's economy growing, and if they're not coming into our state's labor force on their own we need to find out why.

Latest Previous Year Period Period Ago Employment (000) U.S. Sep. 99 128,911.0 128,919.0 126,361.0 indiana Sep. 99 2,976.4 2,930.1 2,962.0 Manufacturing Employment (000) U.S. Sep. 99 18,351.0 18,372.0 18,741.0 indiana Sep. 99 689.0 690.6 686.0 Non-manufacturing...