Graphic provided
Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.7 percent for November and remains lower than the national rate of 4.1 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 four 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.
Indiana’s labor force had a net decrease of 15,398 over the previous month, which was a result of 5,516 unemployed residents no longer seeking employment and a 9,882 decrease in residents employed within the past four weeks. Indiana’s total labor force stands at 3.32 million, and the state’s 63.9 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 62.7 percent.
In addition, Indiana’s initial and ongoing unemployment insurance claims are at historical lows.
Employment by Sector
Private sector employment has grown by more than 13,700 over the year, and has decreased by 4,200 over the previous month, primarily due to losses in the Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-2,900) and the Leisure and Hospitality (-2,500) sectors. Losses were partially offset by a gain in the Construction (4,900) sector. Total private employment stands at 2,690,600 and is 13,700 above the November 2016 peak.
Editor’s Notes
Data are sourced from November Current Employment Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
November employment data for Indiana Counties, Cities and MSAs will be available at noon (EST) Wednesday, Dec. 27 pending U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics validation.