INDIANAPOLIS (September 6, 2007) - While the number of jobs in Indiana has rebounded to near-peak
levels, Indiana workers have experienced no real wage growth since 2001, and the state's median
household income was well below the national average in 2006. Details on the most recent data on jobs,
wages, incomes and poverty are compiled in the fourth edition of The Status of Working Families in
Indiana, published by the Indiana Institute for Working Families.
Indiana seems to be faring worse than both the nation and its surrounding states on certain economic
indicators. The report documents the steady decline of household income in Indiana for each two-year
period since 1999-2000. Median household income for the state is the lowest among the East North
Central Midwest states (which include Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin) and median hourly
wages also declined in 2006.
In terms of employment, Indiana is only 35,100 jobs below pre-recession levels, but 110,000 high-wage
manufacturing jobs have still not been replaced as of June 2007. The industry with the largest job growth
was education and health services, adding 55,000 new jobs to the Indiana economy since 2000.
Workers with a high school education or less have fared the worst since the recession, experiencing wage
losses and higher unemployment rates. African-American workers in Indiana have also experienced
substantial wage losses and unemployment rates double that of Whites.
In addition, the report finds that more families and children are living below the poverty level. The state's
poverty rate edged up to 12.7 percent in 2006, up from 12.2 percent in 2005. Nearly 18 percent of
children in Indiana now live in poverty.
Rochelle Finzel, the report's author, states, "Hoosier families continue to struggle to regain the economic
footing they had before the last recession. Education and training is critical in the new economy, yet only
23 percent of Indiana's population has a postsecondary degree. Recent state efforts to bolster the
education and skill levels of Hoosier workers can help reverse these trends."
The bright spot in the economic picture was the health care coverage for Hoosiers. The state saw the
largest one-year gains in health insurance coverage. Indiana saw a significant drop in the percent of
residents not covered by health insurance, down from 13.6 percent in 2005 to 11.8 percent in 2006. This,
however, remains above the uninsured rate in 2000 of 10.8 percent.
A full copy of this report can be found here.
