INDIANAPOLIS(Oct. 18, 2019) – Indiana’s unemployment rate continues to drop to 3.2 percent for September and remains lower than the national rate of 3.5 percent. The last time Indiana’s unemployment rate was lower than 3.2 percent was December 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 decrease of 2,722 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 2,934 unemployed residents and an increase of 212 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 64.5 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 21,500 over the year and has decreased by 3,400 over the previous month. The monthly decrease is primarily due to losses in the Leisure and Hospitality (-2,000) and the Manufacturing (-1,000) sectors. Losses were partially offset by gains in the Construction (1,700) and the Financial Activities (400) sectors. Total private employment stands at 2,737,700, which is 5,600 above the December 2018 peak.
Midwest Unemployment Rates
