Indiana Unemployment Rate Rises Slightly

Workforce Development is one of several state departments to collaborate on the plan

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The state’s unemployment rate has inched up to 3.1 percent. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says Indiana’s labor force decreased by more than 1,000 in July, compared to June. The Indiana unemployment rate remains the lowest among Midwest states and is below the 4.3 percent national average. Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Steven Braun says the unemployment rate in the state continues to be at a near-record low.

He says the increase from 3 percent in June is a reflection of the tightening labor market. Braun says over the next decade, the state and its employers face the need to fill an estimated one-million jobs, a challenge the DWD says is the top priority.

From June to July, private sector employment increased by 2,000, driven by private educational and health services sector and manufacturing sector gains, which accounted for a combined 4,600 new jobs. Losses in the construction and transportation and trade and utilities sectors helped drag the totals by 1,300 jobs.

Indiana’s unemployment rate was lowest in the Midwest, followed closely by Wisconsin at 3.2 percent, Minnesota and Michigan at 3.7 percent, Illinois at 4.8 percent, Ohio at 5.2 percent and Kentucky at 5.3 percent.