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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 May unemployment rate of 8.2 percent remained unchanged from the previous month, the state’s Department of Workforce Development said Friday morning.
The jobless rate—based on the number of Hoosiers filing for unemployment claims—remained steady, though Indiana saw total employment fall by 5,200 from April to May. Government and trade, transportation and utilities showed the most significant declines.
The state gained 1,700 private-sector jobs during the month. Sectors adding jobs included private education and health services, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and construction.
Because the state’s unemployment rate has been at or below 8.5 percent for three consecutive months, Indiana is no longer eligible for a portion of extended unemployment benefits, DWD Commissioner Mark W. Everson said. The rate dropped from 8.5 percent in March to 8.2 percent in April.
As a result, unemployed Hoosiers will be eligible for up to 93 weeks of unemployment benefits instead of 99 weeks, Everson said.
The nation’s unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 percentage points in May, to 9.1 percent.
Indiana had the lowest unemployment rate in the Midwest in May. It was followed by Ohio at 8.6 percent, Illinois at 8.9 percent, Kentucky at 9.8 percent and Michigan at 10.3 percent.
In the Indianapolis metropolitan area, the non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 7.8 percent in May, higher than the 7.6 percent reported in April but down significantly from the 9.1 percent in May 2010.
Comparisons of metro areas are more 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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