U.S. employers added a robust 288,000 jobs in April, the most in two years. The unemployment rate sank to 6.3 percent, its lowest level since September 2008. But the drop occurred because the number of people working or seeking work fell sharply.
The state’s unemployment rate continued to fall in March, dropping to less than 6 percent for the first time since July 2008.
The decrease suggests that employers expect stronger economic growth in the coming months and are holding onto their workers.
The state added 5,400 private-sector jobs February while the number of officially unemployed Hoosiers fell to fewer than 200,000 for the first time since August 2008, the state said.
The Hoosier state added 4,600 jobs in the manufacturing sector in January, the most in the country. But Indiana also lost 7,100 private sector jobs, leaving the state at a net loss of 2,500 jobs for the month.
Figures released Monday by the state Department of Workforce Development show Indiana's jobless rate for January fell four-tenths of a percentage point from the month before.
Employers added more workers than projected in February, while unemployment rose to 6.7 percent from 6.6 percent as more people entered the labor force.
That average indicates that companies are cutting few jobs, but employment growth has been lackluster in recent months.
Hamilton County employers are having trouble filling lower-wage jobs. At 4.5 percent in December, Hamilton County’s jobless rate was the lowest in the metro area and one of the lowest in the state.
The improvement came despite a small decline in private-sector employment of 4,800 jobs during the month.
Growing ranks of dropout workers have nagged the economy throughout its recovery, and now Indiana’s budget forecasters feel they can’t ignore the trend. They recently revised their outlook on state revenue downward, partly because so many Hoosiers stopped looking for jobs.
The number of newly formed Indiana companies slumped in 2013, the first such dip since the recession, but the small drop could actually be a positive sign for the economy. Established companies have more job openings than a few years ago, meaning workers have less incentive to start their own businesses, as thousands did when the economy tumbled.
Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They appear to have stabilized near pre-recession levels after a period of volatility around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
The new year looks a lot like the old one in the Senate, with Democrats scratching for votes to pass an agenda they share with President Barack Obama, and Republicans decidedly unenthusiastic about supporting more spending.
The Labor Department said Thursday that the less volatile four-week average rose 8,500, to 357,250. The average was driven up in recent weeks by spikes that reflected seasonal volatility around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Job numbers increased faster in Indiana in November than in any other state, the government reported Friday morning. The unemployment rate also dropped 0.2 points, to 7.3 percent.
The unemployment rate fell to nearly a five-year low in September, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Still, the percentage of Americans working or looking for work remained at a 35-year low.
The state saw sizable job increases in manufacturing, health services and educational sectors, but that was offset by decreases in trade, transportation, utilities and construction.
Indiana will soon require beneficiaries to appear in-person at WorkOne centers. The state hopes the counseling that people receive will reduce their job-search time by two weeks and, because they’ll have to show identification, take a big bite out of fraud.
The rate fell because more Americans stopped looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed. The proportion of Americans working or looking for work fell to its lowest level in 35 years.
