The number of people out of work in Indiana is on the decline.
The state’s April jobless rate of 3.9% was unchanged from March, but the number of people unemployed for the month totaled 139,684, down from 153,244 in March, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Indiana’s employed labor force for the month totaled 3,187,375, up from 3,142,534 in March.
The monthly unemployment rate is a government 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 increase of 145 over the previous month, the state said. This was a result of an increase of 955 unemployed residents and a decrease of 810 employed residents.
Indiana's total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, was 3.34 million in April. The state’s 63.1% labor force participation rate was above the national rate of 61.7%.
Private sector employment increased by 362,400 over the year and decreased by 600 over the previous month, the state said. The monthly decrease is due to losses in the construction (-2,300) and the leisure and hospitality (-800) sectors. Losses were offset by gains in the manufacturing (1,300) and the private educational and health services (1,300) sectors.
Unemployment rates also fell across some of Northern Indiana’s metro areas.
The Elkhart-Goshen area’s jobless rate in April was 3%, down from 3.5% in March.
In the Gary area the jobless rate for April was 6.7%, down from 6.8% in March.
Unemployment also fell in the Michigan City-La Porte area. That region’s jobless rate was 6% in April, down from 6.6% in March.
The South Bend-Mishawaka jobless rate in April was 4.8%, down from 5.3% in March.
