January Indiana Employment Report

INDIANAPOLIS (March 16, 2020) – Indiana’s unemployment rate drops to 3.1 percent for January and remains lower than the national rate of 3.6 percent. The last time Indiana’s unemployment rate was lower than 3.1 percent was November 2000. 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 increase of 3,749 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 877 unemployed residents and an increase of 4,626 employed residents. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.39 million, and the state’s 64.4 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 63.4 percent.

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 decreased by 1,300 over the year and has grown by 8,400 over the previous month. The monthly increase is primarily due to gains in the Trade, Transportation and Utilities (3,600); the Leisure and Hospitality (3,200); and the Private Educational and Health Services (2,600) sectors. Gains were partially offset by a loss in the Manufacturing (-4,800) sector. Total private employment stands at 2,741,900, which is 7,400 below the new January 2019 peak.

Midwest Unemployment Rates