Indiana’s unemployment rate climbed to 8.2 percent in July, marking the second straight month the rate has increased.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Friday morning that the July rate increased from 8 percent in June. It was 7.9 percent in May.
The rate slightly below the national rate of 8.3 percent.
The DWD, however, is taking issue with how the federal government calculates the state’s unemployment rate.
“We have raised several questions with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics about discrepancies in June and July’s labor force data,” DWD Commissioner Scott B. Sanders said in a prepared statement. “The numbers seem to indicate nearly 46,000 Hoosiers went from gainfully employed in May to missing from the labor force in July, with no explanation.”
Indiana’s jobless rate has been at 8 percent or above in all but two month since December 2008. It was 9.2 percent a year ago.
Indiana added 3,300 private-sector jobs in July, the ninth straight month the state has reported an increase. So far this year, the state’s overall job-growth rate of 1.7 percent continues to exceed the national average of 1 percent, the state said.
Statewide non-farm employment in July totaled 2.9 million on a seasonally adjusted basis. A total of 264,569 sought unemployment benefits, down from a revised 265,433 in June.
Sectors showing employment gains in July included government (7,600 jobs) and construction (2,400 jobs).
The trade, transportation and utilities sector showed the biggest employment loss (1,200 jobs).
In the Indianapolis metro area, the non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 7.8 percent in July, down from 8.6 percent in July 2011.
Comparisons of metro areas are more accurately made using the same months in prior years because the government does not adjust the figures for factory furloughs and other seasonal fluctuations.
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