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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 unemployment rate slipped to 3.3 percent in January, down from 3.4 percent the previous month, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development announced Monday.
Private sector employment grew by 3,000 over the month and is up 24,400 over the past year, the state said.
Indiana’s labor force—which is composed of both employed and unemployed-but-willing-to-work residents—decreased by 7,294 workers from December to January, to 3.31 million. The decrease was a result of 4,105 unemployed residents no longer seeking employment and a 3,189 decrease in residents employed.
Indiana’s labor-force participation rate—the percentage of the state’s population that is either employed or actively seeking work—stood at 63.7 percent in January. It remains well ahead of the national rate of 62.7 percent.
January job gains were seen in the Construction (2,400) and the Leisure and Hospitality (1,700) sectors. Job losses were primarily seen in the Others category (-1,500), which includes Mining and Logging, IT and Other Services, and the Professional and Business Services sector (-700).
Indiana’s unemployment rate in January was lower than the national rate of 4.1 percent. The state’s rate has been lower than the national rate for more than four years, except for the month of October 2014, when it was equal.
The rate in Indiana is lower than in neighboring states Michigan (4.7 percent), Illinois (4.8 percent), Ohio (4.7 percent) and Kentucky (4.3 percent).
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