Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.6 percent for December and remains lower than the national rate of 3.9 percent. With the exception of one month when it was equal (October 2014), Indiana’s unemployment rate now has been below the U.S. rate for more than five years. 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.
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Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 1,543 over the previous month. This was a result of an increase of 83 unemployed residents and an increase of 1,460 employed residents. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.40 million, and the state’s 65.1 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 63.1 percent.
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Employment by sector
Private sector employment has grown by 42,700 over the year and 12,200 over the previous month. The monthly increase is primarily due to gains in the Private Educational and Health Services (4,200), Construction (3,900) and the Leisure and Hospitality (1,500) sectors. Total private employment reached a preliminary record highpoint of 2,731,600, which is 42,700 above the official December 2017 peak.
The new December 2018 peak, like all data within this report, is subject to monthly revisions and annual benchmarking. In addition, preliminary Construction jobs continue to be at the highest level since April 2008.
Data are sourced from December Current Employment Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. December employment data for Indiana counties, cities and MSAs will be available at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 22, pending U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics validation.