In the past decade, Indiana has faced an economic decline that has caused people to earn less and more families to live in poverty.
That grim finding comes from a new report by the Indiana Institute for Working Families.
"Prior to the recession of 2001, nationally, the economy was doing very well," Sarah Downing, author of the report, said. "However, Indiana never really came out of the lull that it was in from the 2001 recession."
The institute is part of the Indiana Community Action Association. The association is a not-for-profit that works to eliminate poverty. The study was created with data from the Economic Policy Institute and the Economic Analysis Network.
Indiana lost over 142,000 manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2008, according to the study. Most of those are from auto and RV manufacturers and their parts' makers.
"The jobs picture has been mixed with most of the job losses hitting the middle class," Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business Economic Research at Ball State University, said.
Downing said other states were able to recover from the 2001 recession and were able to put themselves in a much better position.
It's all gone now.
"The recession was so devastating that, nationwide, 10 years of economic growth has pretty much been erased or slowed," Downing said. "Because of the recession, we're all in the same boat."
According to a study from the Economic Policy Institute, "The Great Recession" caused Americans to lose $15 trillion in wealth. This caused people to stop buying things causing the economy to slam on the brakes.
The report also focused on African-Americans and women.
African-Americans worked for almost $2.00 less per hour in 2007 than in 2003. African-Americans' experienced an average unemployment rate of 15.3 percent. The Average for Caucasians is 5 percent.
Almost one-third of female-headed households live in poverty. Many of those are single-parent homes. Women in Indiana earn only 71 cents for every dollar a man does.
While wages have stood still, the price of food, gas and housing have not. There are now so many Hoosier families below the poverty line that Indiana's various support programs can no longer keep up with demand.
Despite all these hardships Hoosiers and the state are facing, Downing said surrounding states are on par with Indiana.
"While I am not sure all of INCAPs data says what the author thinks it says, overall I share her view that the recession we have just emerged from has been very difficult," Hicks said.
Downing said that recovering will be slow. It will take time for everyone out of a job to get back into the workforce.
"Unemployment is always the lagging factor of the economy," Downing said. "Even when they say the recession's over, unemployment will continue to remain high for a while."
It may take two years or more to recover, Downing said.
"The problems that are facing Indiana and the surrounding states are the ones that the nation is facing as a whole," she said. "The story's pretty much the same wherever you go."
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