State outpaces nation in job creation; unemployment falls

Job numbers increased faster in Indiana in November than in any other state, the government reported Friday morning. The unemployment rate also fell 0.2 points, to 7.3 percent.

The state added a seasonally adjusted 25,200 nonfarm jobs—the third-largest figure in the nation—over October. The 0.9-percent increase was fastest in the nation.

"Today’s employment news in Indiana stuns the senses," Ball State University economist Mike Hicks said in an e-mailed statement. "Nearly one out of every eight jobs created nationally were created here in Indiana. The composition of jobs were also strong, with manufacturing, logistics and construction comprising the top three job gaining categories."
 
Leading Indiana’s job gains were trade, transportation and utilities, up 6,800 positions, and construction, up 4,800. Manufacturing added 4,800 jobs and professional and business services—a category that includes temporary jobs—was up 4,700 positions.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development pointed out that Indiana was responsible for nearly 13 percent of national private-sector job growth in November.

“November was a historic month of job growth in Indiana,” commissioner Scott B. Sanders said in a prepared statement. “It is encouraging that fewer Hoosiers are unemployed than in November of 2008, and the unemployment rate has dropped by more than a percentage point over the past few months. However, we need to keep the ball moving by strengthening Indiana’s pro-growth climate.”

The figures are preliminary, thus subject to adjustment.

Figures for the Indianapolis metro area were not immediately available.

With November’s gains, the state is within striking range of record employment.

The 2,980,300 jobs in November were 38,400 short of the record 3,018,700 set in May 2000.

November also is 12,800 short of the interim peak of 2,993,100 reached in June 2007—months before the Great Recession began.

Indiana’s jobless rate was lower than all surrounding states and 0.2 points above the U.S. average.

"These numbers are two-and-a-half times better than a 'very good' month in job creation," Hicks said. "While these numbers may be revised in coming months, this is once again evidence that Indiana is rebounding far better than the nation as a whole."