LAKE COUNTY LABOR MARKET PROFILELake County is located in Northwest Indiana. The county is bordered on the south by Newton and Jasper Counties. The County is adjacent to Porter County on the east, Lake Michigan is to the north, and The State of Illinois to the west. Lake County is one of the seven counties located in the area designated by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development as Indiana Economic Growth Region 1.
Lake County’s population estimate for 2007 was 492,333, up 1.6 percent from the 2000 Census total. During this same time period, Indiana’s total 2007 population estimate of 6,344,881 was up by 4.3 percent.
Population pageAccording to the 2000 Census, 250,349 people twenty-five years of age and over were high school high school graduates and/or had post-high school education. This amount represented 80.7 percent of Lake County’s twenty-five and over population. For the twenty-five years of age and over population, 50,307 or 16.2 percent were four-year college graduates or higher, ranking Lake County 21st highest among Indiana counties for percentage of this population who were college graduates or higher. In 2006, 4,779 persons graduated high school and 4,023 or 84.2 percent intended to go on to higher education.
Education pageLake County’s estimated average unemployment rate for 2007 was 5.2 percent, above Indiana’s annual average of 4.5 percent. The county’s unemployment rate was based on an estimated average residential labor force of 226,066. Of that labor force, 214,408 were employed and 11,658 were unemployed. Lake County’s unemployment rate reached a decade low of 3.6 percent in 2000. The rate rose to 6.4 percent by 2002.
Labor force pageIn 2006 persons living in but commuting to work out of Lake County was 59,398 or 20.2 percent of the labor force. Approximately 79.8 percent of Lake County’s working residents work in the county. The area outside Lake County where the largest number of residents went to work was State of Illinois. In 2006 person commuting to work into the county from outside areas was 44,631 or 16.0 percent of the work force. The area sending the most number of persons into the county to work was Porter County.
Commutting pageIn 2007, Lake County businesses had an average of 194,635 jobs. Three major industry sectors: Health Care & Social Assistance, Government (all levels), and Manufacturing dominated the county in terms of employment. These three industry sectors accounted for 42.6 percent of the county’s 2007 industry employment. The largest employing industry in the county was Health Care & Social Assistance with 29,058 jobs, accounting for 14.9 percent of total employment. Total covered employment was up 1.9 percent between 2004 and 2007. Transportation and Warehousing showed the most job growth between 2004 and 2007, increasing 1,968 jobs or 30.8 percent. Health Care and Social Assistance was second, adding 1,790 jobs or 6.6 percent. Management of Companies and Enterprises had the largest percentage gain at 41.5 percent.
Industry employment pageThe average 2007 earnings for Lake County was $38,258 per year versus Indiana’s $37,529. The average industry wage rose by $2,883 or 8.1 percent from 2004 to 2007. The Management of Companies and Enterprises industry had the highest average earnings at $74,984 per year, with the Utilities industry second at $68,712, while the industry with the lowest annual earnings number was Accommodation & Food Services at $11,856. Per capita income for 2006 was $30,934 in Lake County, up 16.3 percent since 2002.
Industry earnings pageLake County has 10,055 firms, with 280 firms or about 2.8 percent employing 100 or more workers, while firms employing fewer than 10 workers account for 68.5 percent. Also, the number firms employing fewer than 10 workers fell 3.3 percent or 237 firms between 1999 and 2007 to total 6,887 firms in 2007.
Firms page