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.
The decline marks the third straight month that Indiana’s unemployment rate has fallen, but private-sector jobs actually dropped in December.
The head of the Indiana AFL-CIO says protecting the unemployment benefits paid to jobless workers will be among the union organization's top priorities during the state Legislature's session.
The U.S. Labor Department says applications for unemployment aid rose by 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 409,000 in the week ending Jan. 1. Applications fell to 391,000 in the previous week, the lowest point since July 2008.
Applications dropped by 34,000, to 388,000, the lowest number since the week of July 12, 2008. The level of applications has either fallen or remained unchanged in five of the past six weeks.
American companies have created 1.4 million jobs overseas this year, compared with less than 1 million in the U.S.
Indiana businesses and the unemployed are both worried about changes that legislators could make to the state's insolvent unemployment insurance program during the upcoming General Assembly.
The recession came to an official end 18 months ago, but Indiana’s unemployment rate hovered around 10 percent.
Indiana’s jobless rate dropped for the second month in a row and has decreased four-tenths of a point since hitting 10.2 percent this summer.
Acting with uncommon speed, Congress sent President Barack Obama sweeping, bipartisan legislation late Thursday night to avoid a Jan. 1 spike in income taxes for millions and renew jobless benefits for victims of the worst recession in 80 years.
Chief regional economist Jim Diffley of IHS Global Insight says Indiana has grown faster than other manufacturing-heavy Midwestern states.
In November, the economy added just 39,000 net jobs and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent. Many economists predict December will be a stronger month for hiring.
With hiring so weak, the unemployment rate rose from 9.6 percent to 9.8 percent. The jobless rate has now topped 9 percent for 19 straight months, the longest stretch on record.
Difficulties adjusting for the Thanksgiving holiday contributed to last week’s spike in new applications, a government analyst said. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths volatility, fell to 431,000 last week, a two-year low.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development says as many as 4,000 Hoosiers per week will run out of unemployment benefits beginning Sunday.
