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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 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped slightly to 10.1 percent in September, matching the rate reported the same month last year, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Friday morning.
The August jobless rate was 10.2 percent.
“Any drop in the unemployment rate is welcome news,” DWD Commissioner Mark W. Everson said in a prepared statement. “On a year-to-date basis, Indiana continues to be a leader in private-sector job growth.”
Indiana has added 43,100 private-sector jobs this year, an increase of 1.9 percent over the same time last year.
However, the state lost 7,500 private-sector jobs in September after adding 3,000 in August. Sectors losing the most jobs includes professional and business services, manufacturing and private education and health services. In addition, the state lost 2,100 government jobs.
Sectors reporting slight job growth included trade, transportation and utilities, and construction.
The state’s unemployment rate remains in double digits for the sixth consecutive month. After having the lowest jobless rate in the Midwest for much of the economic downturn, Indiana’s rate is now among the worst.
Only Michigan has a higher rate, at 13 percent. Kentucky’s rate also is 10.1 percent. Ohio’s rate is 10 percent, and Illinois’ is 9.6 percent.
The national rate is 9.6 percent.
The number of unemployed Hoosiers fell to 297,585 in September, from a revised 312,098 in August.
In the Indianapolis metro area, the non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 8.7 percent in September, down from 9.1 percent in August, but up from 8.1 percent in September 2009.
Comparisons of metro areas are most accurately made using the same months in prior years, because the government does not adjust the figures for factory furloughs and other seasonal fluctuations.
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