Indiana unemployment insurance overhaul continues
Workers taking voluntary buyouts will no longer be eligible for state unemployment benefits in Indiana beginning Saturday, and severance pay will be counted against unemployment payouts.
Workers taking voluntary buyouts will no longer be eligible for state unemployment benefits in Indiana beginning Saturday, and severance pay will be counted against unemployment payouts.
Weekly unemployment applications dropped 37,000, to a seasonally adjusted 391,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the lowest level since April 2 and the first time applications have fallen below 400,000 since Aug. 6.
Indiana’s jobless rate increased for the second straight month, reaching its highest level since February.
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week to the highest level in three months, another sign that the job market remains depressed.
As the national economy sputters, the Indianapolis area is losing jobs faster than its peers, falling to levels not seen since 2002.
Indiana’s jobless rate moved up from 8.3 percent in June. The rate had held steady at 8.2 percent the previous two months.
Funding for the state’s work-force-development agencies to help Hoosiers develop job skills has fallen sharply, even as unemployment remains high and the economy is still shaky.
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week below 400,000 for the first time in four months, a sign that the job market may be improving again slowly after a recent slump.
Hiring picked up slightly in July and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent, an optimistic sign after the worst day on Wall Street in nearly three years.
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits dipped last week but has been at or above 400,000 for 17 straight weeks.
The economy expanded at a meager 1.3-percent annual rate in the spring after scarcely growing at all in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department said Friday. The combined growth for the first six months of the year was the weakest since the recession ended two years ago.
After remaining stagnant in April and May, the state’s jobless rate rose one-tenth of a point in June.
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in seven weeks, although applications remain elevated.
Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Mark Everson says the changes will help ensure that only the truly unemployed receive benefits.
In essence, the body of research tells us that longish periods of unemployment compensation tend to cause longish periods of unemployment.
Indiana’s unemployment rate remained unchanged in May from the previous month. Because the rate has been at or below 8.5 percent for three consecutive months, the state is no longer eligible for a portion of extended unemployment benefits.
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits hardly changed for a second straight week, stuck at a high level that points to a slowing job market.
Despite a decrease in private sector jobs, Indiana’s unemployment rate in April dropped 0.3 percentage points, to 8.2 percent, the lowest it’s been since December 2008.
The job gains were widespread. Retailers, factories, financial companies, education and health care and even construction companies all added jobs. Federal, state and local governments cut jobs.
Indiana’s unemployment rate last month declined by 0.3 percentage points compared to February and is the lowest it’s been in more than two years.