U.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is struggling three years after the recession ended. The unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent.
A new report shows Indiana’s life sciences companies performed better than their peers around the country—and far better than the rest of Indiana’s private sector—during the early phases of the economic downturn.
If it seems like the economy should be better by now, under normal circumstances it would. After all, the recession ended three years ago this month.
Recovery in manufacturing—one of Indiana’s best-paying employment sectors—has been a much celebrated change after years of decline. But many of those jobs are returning with lower wages as employers keep up with growing global competition.
More college degrees wanted, but large borrowing amounts present obstacle.
Indiana’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.9 percent in April, falling below 8 percent for the first time since November 2008. The rate has dropped for five straight months.
Indiana’s jobless rate is the lowest it’s been since December 2008 and matches the national jobless rate for March, also at 8.2 percent.
Bureau of Labor Statistics revises numbers, but region is still 30,000 jobs short of pre-recession peak.
The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly unemployment benefit applications fell by 5,000, to a seasonally adjusted 359,000. That's the smallest number of applicants since April 2008. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined to 365,000.
Indiana’s unemployment rate fell to 8.7 percent in January as the state added 13,000 private-sector jobs, the largest monthly increase in more than a year.
Leading indicators for Indiana’s economy are looking up: Banks are increasing lending, real estate developers are pulling the trigger on long-shelved projects, manufacturers are expanding, and consumers are even buying big-ticket items, including automobiles.
Building permits filed in the nine-county Indianapolis metropolitan area totaled 194 in January, a 2-percent dip from the same time last year. But industry leaders are cautiously optimistic.
The U.S. economy is showing signs of bouncing back and, if it does, look for drugmakers and medical-device companies to benefit. But if the economy has another summer stall like last year, expect health insurers to benefit.
The Labor Department said Friday that employers added a net 200,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, the lowest since February 2009.
The year started with a sense that slowly—not fast enough for anyone’s liking—but steadily, Indiana’s economy was coming back. But then a spike in gas prices and the never-ending sovereign debt crisis in Europe created a summer of setbacks.
The Dow Jones industrial average surged 337 points following encouraging signs out of Europe and a jump in apartment construction in the U.S. It was the best day for U.S. stocks this month.
The state’s unemployment rate held steady in November at a seasonally adjusted 9 percent, slightly higher than the overall U.S. rate that dropped to 8.6 percent, the state’s Department of Workforce Development said Tuesday morning.
Republican candidate for governor Jim Wallace says Indiana can boost start its economy by spending $500 million on infrastructure and new tax credits for business.
Employers added a net total of 120,000 jobs last month. The economy has generated 100,000 or more jobs five months in a row — the first time that has happened since April 2006.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2 percent in the July-September quarter, lower than an initial 2.5-percent estimate made last month. The government also said after-tax incomes fell by the largest amount in two years.
