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.
The government says applications for unemployment benefits rose 27,000, to a seasonally adjusted 412,000 for the week ended April 9. That left applications at their highest point since mid-February.
The number of Indiana teens and college students with jobs fell sharply during the recession, and their employment prospects might not improve this year.
The nation added 216,000 jobs last month, with private employers adding more than 200,000 jobs for a second straight month. However, a big factor in the lower jobless rate is that many people who stopped looking for jobs still aren’t looking for one.
The February decline marks the first time the state’s jobless rate has been below 9 percent since December 2008. Still, the state lost 1,600 private-sector jobs and 6,300 government jobs in February.
A new federal report shows that Indiana residents' personal income grew last year at one of the fastest rates in the nation.
After topping out at 10.2 percent last summer, Indiana’s jobless rate has been steadily declining.
The unemployment rate has been falling for three months, down from 9.8 percent in November, marking the sharpest three-month decline since 1983.
Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000, to a seasonally adjusted 368,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday. Applications are now at their lowest level since May 2008.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed into law Thursday a plan aimed at fixing Indiana’s debt-ridden unemployment fund that labor unions had opposed because it will reduce jobless benefits for some people while softening business tax increases.
The Indiana Senate has given final legislative approval to a bill to fix the state's bankrupt unemployment insurance fund. The measure now moves to Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels for his signature.
Organizers expect several hundred steelworkers for an Indiana Statehouse rally to protest a proposal reducing unemployment benefits for many laid-off workers and so-called right-to-work legislation.
North-central and east-central Indiana, which absorbed the brunt of the job losses, also showed the highest percentage of unoccupied homes.
Employers posted fewer job openings in December, the second straight month of declines. That's a sign hiring is still weak even as the economy is gaining strength.
Indiana lawmakers are working quickly to help fix the state's bankrupt unemployment insurance system in enough time to give businesses a tax break.
An Indiana House committee split along party lines to approve a bill that would cut jobless benefits for some people starting next year as the state tries to fix its insolvent unemployment insurance system.
