By Lesley Weidenbener
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – The state’s unemployment rate continued to fall in March, dropping to less than 6 percent for the first time since July 2008.
unemployment graphicThe state’s rate of 5.9 percent is better than the national rate and those in surrounding states.
“Our rate has dropped by 2 percentage points in one year, which is the third largest decline in the nation,†said Scott Sanders, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “The Hoosier labor force has grown by more than 25,000 in the first quarter of 2014 alone, which is also remarkable.â€
Indiana added 3,200 private sector jobs in March and the state ranks eighth in the nation in total private sector job growth since July, 2009, the low point of employment in the state. During that time, Indiana has grown 215,500 private sector jobs, lead in part by strong growth in the manufacturing sector.
State officials also said claims for state unemployment insurance in March were nearly 10,000 below March 2013 levels and are at their lowest since 2007. Initial claims for unemployment insurance are at their lowest levels since 2000.
Indiana’s unemployment was 6.1 percent in February and 7.9 percent one year ago.
Lesley Weidenbener is executive editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
