Indiana unemployment rate improves to 12.3%
The state’s jobless rate hit a whopping 17.5% in April, according to revised numbers released Friday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, before falling in May.
The state’s jobless rate hit a whopping 17.5% in April, according to revised numbers released Friday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, before falling in May.
The staggering increase in Indiana’s jobless rate—which now is higher than the national rate—was due primarily to the loss of 380,500 workers in the private sector over the previous month.
Data for the report was culled from a federal survey performed in mid-March, just before unemployment claims escalated. However, there’s still evidence of the coronavirus-related sea change brewing in the workforce.
The additional $600 in unemployment benefits could start arriving Friday for some Hoosiers, but independent contractors and gig economy workers may be waiting until next month to see any payments.
State unemployment specialist Josh Richardson talks with host Mason King about who is now eligible for benefits under an expansion approved by Congress as well as how soon they’ll begin receiving benefits and how the agency is adjusting to a flood of applicants.
The number of Hoosiers filing for unemployment benefits has skyrocketed over the past two weeks.
State and federal authorities have expanded the eligibility for unemployment benefits significantly, meaning if you’re out of work and didn’t qualify under the old rules, you likely will now.
In Indiana, initial claims filed for the week ended March 21 rose to a whopping 61,635, up from 2,596 claims the previous week.
The numbers are skyrocketing as businesses close as part of efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The governor also signed legislation that will eventually put more money into the state’s unemployment trust fund, a move that comes as the coronavirus outbreak has led to a jump in unemployment claims.
The growing number of people filing for unemployment checks raises fresh questions about whether states have stockpiled enough money since the last recession to tide over idled workers until the crisis ends.
In a snapshot of the state’s workforce from January, private employment grew in the transportation, hospitality, education and health sectors while declining in manufacturing.
A bright spot was the U-6, or underemployment rate, which fell to 6.7 percent, according to Bloomberg News. This level was lower than at any point since at least 1994.
In Friday’s hiring data, besides reporting the healthy November gain, the government revised up its estimate of job growth for September and October by a combined 41,000.
The state saw job losses last month in the manufacturing sector, but the overall unemployment rate is still lower than in Indiana’s four neighboring states and across the U.S. as a whole.
U.S. employers added a solid 128,000 jobs in October, a figure that was held down by a now-settled strike against General Motors that caused several thousand workers to be temporarily counted as unemployed.
All told, the September jobs report is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track to cut interest rates later this month for the third time this year to try to help sustain the expansion.
Private sector employment in Indiana slipped by 2,100 in August over the previous month but is up more than 23,000 over the year, the state said.
U.S. employers slowed their hiring in July, but added a still-healthy number of jobs. Average hourly earnings increased 3.2% from a year ago, up from annual gains of 3% in June.
Private sector employment in Indiana grew by 6,800 in June over the previous month and is up more than 37,000 over the year, the state said.