Indiana unemployment dipped to 3.1% in January

Indiana’s unemployment rate ticked down to 3.1% in January, making it the lowest unemployment rate for the state since November 2000.

Indiana also remained well under the national unemployment rate of 3.6%.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Monday that the state’s unemployment rate had declined 0.1 percentage points from 3.2% in December 2019. Over the same period, the national unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points from 3.5%.

Indiana’s labor force—which is composed of both employed and unemployed-but-willing-to-work residents—ballooned by 3,749 workers from December to January, essentially remaining at 3.39 million.

Indiana’s labor-force participation rate—the percentage of the state’s population that is either employed or actively seeking work—was 64.4%, ahead of the national rate of 63.4%.

Private sector employment in Indiana grew by 8,400 in January over the previous month, the state said. Total private employment is 2,741,900, which is 7,400 below the January 2019 peak.

The increase was due in large part to gains in Trade, Transportation and Utilities (3,600), Leisure and Hospitality (3,200) and Private Educational and Health Services (2,600). Losses occurred in Manufacturing (-4,800).

The unemployment rate in Indiana for January was lower than the rates in neighboring states Michigan (3.8%), Illinois (3.5%), Ohio (4.1%) and Kentucky (4.3%).