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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 unemployment rate took a nosedive last month, falling to its lowest level in almost seven years.
The rate fell from 5.8 percent in March to 5.4 percent in April, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development announced Wednesday.
Unemployment hasn’t been that low since May 2008.
Indiana added 10,600 private-sector jobs in April, led by a gain of 6,400 jobs in the Trade, Transportation & Utilities sector. Big gains also were seen in Professional & Business Services (2,500 jobs) and Construction (2,500) sectors. The Leisure and Hospitality sector added 1,200 jobs.
The Financial Activities sector shed 1,200 jobs and the Manufacturing sector lost 300.
With private-sector employment at 2,604,800, Indiana is just 7,800 private-sector jobs shy of the all-time peak of employment, which occurred in March 2000, the DWD said.
Indiana has added more than 281,000 private-sector jobs since July 2009, the low point of employment in the state.
“With more than 112,000 jobs added since January 2013, Indiana continues to see positive growth in the private sector,” Indiana Secretary of Commerce Victor Smith said in a written statement. “We have worked hard to create a low-cost, fiscally predictable business environment in the state to allow our businesses the confidence and the opportunity to grow.”
Kentucky led the Midwest with the lowest unemployment rate in April, at 5 percent, followed by Ohio (5.2 percent), Michigan and Indiana (5.4 percent), and Illinois (6 percent).
The national unemployment rate for April was 5.4 percent.
Unemployment rates fell in 23 states in April as hiring rebounded nationwide. Forty states gained jobs and nine posted job losses.
Eleven states reported a higher unemployment rate than in March, while 16 states saw no change.
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