Indiana’s unemployment rate remains at 3.6 percent for May, and the national rate also stands at 3.6 percent. The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force.
Indiana’s labor force had a net decrease of 10,677 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 2,312 unemployed residents and a decrease of 8,365 employed residents. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.40 million, and the state’s 65.0 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 62.8 percent.
Also, this month had the lowest unemployment insurance claims in the reference week (12th of the month) in 2019.
Learn more about how unemployment rates are calculated here: http://www.hoosierdata.in.gov/infographics/employment-status.asp.
Employment by Sector
Private sector employment has grown by 32,900 over the year and decreased by 1,200 over the previous month. The monthly decrease is primarily due to losses in the Leisure and Hospitality (-1,000) and the Financial Activities (-900)sectors. Losses were partially offset by gains in the Manufacturing (900) and the Private Educational and Health Care Services (900) sectors. Total private employment stands at 2,742,100, which is 10,000 above the December 2018 peak.
Midwest Unemployment Rates
  EDITOR’S NOTES:
Data are sourced from May Current Employment Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
May employment data for Indiana Counties, Cities and MSAs will be available Monday, June 24, 2019, at noon (Eastern) pending U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics validation.
