January Indiana Employment Report

INDIANAPOLIS (March 15, 2021) – Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 4.2 percent for January, and the national rate is 6.3 percent. 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 3,803 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 12,700 unemployed residents and an increase of 16,503 employed residents. 

Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.35 million, and the state’s 63.3 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 61.4 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 111,400 over the year and increased by 3,300 over the previous month. The monthly increase is primarily due to gains in the Leisure and Hospitality (1,600) and the Manufacturing (1,400) sectors. Gains were offset by losses in the Professional and Business Services (-500) and the Financial Activities (-100) sectors. Total private employment stands at 2,626,400, which is 114,100 below the new December 2019 peak.

Midwest Unemployment Rates

Please note that the state’s December 2020 rate was revised from 4.3 percent to 4.6 percent during the annual benchmarking process.