Indiana unemployment rate dips as more find work

The state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent in August as the number of employed people rose to an all-time high, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Tuesday.

The rate dropped from 4.6 percent in July and hit its lowest mark since November 2015, when it also was 4.5 percent.

Indiana’s labor force —which is composed of both employed and unemployed-but-willing-to-work residents—has grown by almost 200,000 workers since January 2013.

That growth has helped create all-time highs in the state’s total labor force (3,379,290) and total number of employed (3,226,385), the state said. The unemployment rate reflects the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force.

Indiana has added 36,400 private-sector jobs so far this year, with 5,600 jobs coming in August.

Monthly gains were seen in the categories of Professional & Business Services (5,300), Leisure & Hospitality (3,500) and Financial Services (400). Losses were seen in Construction (-2,300), Manufacturing (-1,400), Trade, Transportation & Utilities (-1,300) and Private Education & Health Services (-200).

Indiana’s labor-force participation rate—the percentage of the state’s population that is either employed or actively seeking work—grew this month to 65.5 percent, remaining well above the national rate of 62.8 percent.

Among Indiana’s neighboring states, Michigan matched Indiana in August with a jobless rate of 4.5 percent, followed by Ohio (4.7 percent), Kentucky (4.9 percent) and Illinois (5.5 percent).

The national unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in August.