State jobless rate holds steady at 4.4 percent

Indiana’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.4 percent in October as job gains in manufacturing were offset by losses in other sectors, the state’s Department of Workforce Development announced Friday morning.

Last month’s seasonally-adjusted rate of 4.4 percent was down from 5.8 percent in October 2014 and now is at its lowest rate since August 2001. Last month’s results matched September’s rate, which initially was reported by the state as 4.5 percent before being revised downward by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Private sector employment ticked up for the month by a mere 100 jobs. Solid gains in October of 5,400 jobs in the Manufacturing sector and 2,900 jobs in Private Education and Health were offset in part by losses in Trade, Transportation & Utilities (3,800) and Professional & Business Services (1,900).

Employment also declined in Leisure & Hospitality (900) and Construction (600).

Indiana’s labor force participation rate came in at 63.6 percent, continuing an 18-month trend of being higher than the national average (62.4 percent in October).

The labor force participation rate measures the percentage of working-age persons who are either employed or unemployed and actively looking for a job.

Indiana tied with Ohio for the lowest unemployment rate among its neighboring Midwestern states in October, followed by Kentucky (4.9 percent), Michigan (5.0 percent), and Illinois (5.4 percent).

The national unemployment rate for October was 5.0 percent, slipping a tenth of a point from September.