INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 20, 2019) – Indiana’s unemployment rate continues to drop to 3.3 percent for August and remains lower than the national rate of 3.7 percent. The last time Indiana’s unemployment rate was at 3.3 percent was February 2018. The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force.
Indiana’s labor force had a net decrease of 2,135 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 4,260 unemployed residents and an increase of 2,125 employed residents. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.38 million, and the state’s 64.6 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 63.2 percent.
Additionally, this month had the lowest unemployment insurance claims in the reference week (12th of the month) in 2019.
Learn more about how unemployment rates are calculated here: http://www.hoosierdata.in.gov/infographics/employment-status.asp.
Employment by Sector
Private sector employment has grown by 23,000 over the year and has decreased by 2,100 over the previous month. The monthly decrease is primarily due to losses in the Leisure and Hospitality (-1,600) and the Manufacturing (-1,500) sectors. Losses were partially offset by gains in the Professional and Business Services (900) and the Financial Activities (600) sectors. Total private employment stands at 2,739,000, which is 6,900 above the December 2018 peak.
Midwest Unemployment Rates
