Local job picture remains difficult for some

By Thomas B Langhorne, Arek Sarkissian II

KYLE GRANTHAM / Courier & Press Angela Hancock Riffert works Thursday in the backyard of her Vanderburgh County home. Riffert purchased the home after it sat unoccupied for four years. Needless to say, the yard was extremely overgrown, and it needed many improvements. Riffert, who is without a job after losing her management position, breaks up the day by working in her yard, sending out resumes and creating art to sell.

EVANSVILLE — Angela Hancock Riffert is almost afraid to acknowledge the full width and breadth of her executive experience for fear that she will be immediately eliminated for jobs in which she is legitimately interested.
Riffert, 44, spent nearly 16 years with a regional insurance agency now known as Hub International Midwest. She started with the company in claims and ended in 2005 as an executive vice president. Recommendation letters from former colleagues say the Vanderburgh County resident was promoted repeatedly over the years as the agency underwent several changes of ownership on its way to generating more than $50 million in annual revenue.
But Riffert says her position was moved to Michigan in the most recent merger six years ago.
Since then Riffert, an artist who says she has sold numerous paintings and other artworks, has maintained an art studio in her home and an online gallery. But the economic downturn has made it harder and harder to support herself with the money she receives from those endeavors.
That same downturn also made it difficult for her to find a job. But hope could be on the horizon, depending on the information one views.
Data provided by the U.S. Department of Labor shows the preliminary Evansville/Ky Statistical area unemployment rate in July was 7.5 percent, which is a decrease of 8.2 percent reported in January. That number also was better than the 9.7 percent rate reported as of January 2010. The metropolitan area includes the Indiana counties of Gibson, Posey and Warrick. It also includes Kentucky counties such as Henderson and Webster.
Data provided by the state Department of Workforce Development also painted an encouraging picture for Vanderburgh County. As of last month, the county reported a 7.3 percent unemployment rate, which was a decrease from the 8.2 percent reported in January. That also was better than the 9.3 percent reported in January 2010.
But the unemployment rate calculated by the state shows a more sluggish picture in the Evansville. As of last month, the unemployment rate of city residents was 7.8 percent, which was an increase from the 7.7 percent reported in June. But the July rate still was a decrease from the 8.9 percent reported in January. And that number was a decrease from the 10.2 percent reported in January 2010.
State-provided July unemployment percentages showed a moderate difference between Indiana counties included in the Federal statistical area. Gibson County reported a rate of 9.1 percent — the 34th highest out of 92 counties in the state. That was followed by Vanderburg County as the 76th highest with 7.3 percent and Posey at 81st highest with 7.1 percent. Neighboring Warrick County held the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the state at 6.5 percent, state data show.
As of last month, the national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent, which was higher than the 8.6 reported for the same period by the state.
Valerie Kroeger, of the state Department of Workforce Development said the numbers her agency calculates is a combination of those provided by the U.S. Department of Labor and actual field research. The state office conducts telephone surveys asking people if they are looking for work. Those looking for work fall under the unemployed status, and those who are not looking are considered not employed. Those numbers then are compared with payroll data from the private sector, Kroeger said.
Those who had lost work and went back to school also fall under the not employed status.
"We consider them as not looking for work," Kroeger said.
People who lost full-time employment and had since picked up part-time work also are no longer unemployed. But those people still could receive unemployment benefits, she said.
Meanwhile, county resident Riffert said her ties to the Evansville area are too strong to leave, so she will continue playing the improving odds here.
"I am a firm believer in timing. I think everything happens for a reason, and I think something good is going to happen. It's just ... in time."