I was in Bend, Oregon on Friday. For those not in the Pacific Northwest, Bend is famous for its unemployment rate. From the AP, on June 3:
The Labor Department said Wednesday that unemployment in April rose from a year earlier in all 372 metropolitan areas it tracks. Indiana's Elkhart-Goshen's rate jumped to 17.8 percent, up 12.7 percentage points from a year ago. The Indiana region, which posted the largest increase from last year, has been pounded by layoffs in the recreational vehicle industry.
The second-highest jump occurred in Bend, Ore. Its rate rose to 15.6 percent, up 9 percentage points from last year.
So how much is Bend like Elkhart? If you look at unemployment, they’re pretty similar:
Bend:
Elkhart:
However, the change in employment is a much different picture. Absolute numbers:
And percentage change:
Elkhart has lost almost 15% of its employment base – Bend less than 5%. Unemployment figures are interesting, but in evaluating the health of a local economy I think the number of people with jobs is much more relevant.
Employment data from this BLS site.
|