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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percentage point in December, to 4 percent—its lowest point since 2001, the state’s Department of Workforce Development said Tuesday.
The rate is down from 4.4 percent in October and 4.5 percent in September.
During 2016, Indiana’s labor force —which is composed of both employed and unemployed-but-willing-to-work residents—increased by 28,419 workers, to more than 3.3 million, thanks to a 45,330 increase in employment and a 16,911 decrease in unemployment, the state said.
Indiana’s labor-force participation rate—the percentage of the state’s population that is either employed or actively seeking work—was at 64.3 percent in December, remaining well above the national rate of 62.7 percent.
Private-sector employment in Indiana grew by almost 23,000 overall in 2016, but fell by 6,000 in December.
Monthly losses were seen in the categories of Private Education Services (-5,900), Professional & Business Services (-2,700), Trade, Transportation & Utilities (-1,300) and Financial Activities (-1,100). Gains were seen in the Manufacturing (2,700) and Construction (+1,800) sectors.
Indiana’s unemployment rate in December was far lower than the rate in neighboring states Kentucky (4.8 percent), Ohio (4.9 percent), Michigan (5 percent) and Illinois (5.7 percent).
The national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in December.
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