More Hoosiers went back to work in May.
According to the Department of Workforce Development, nearly 13,000 more Hoosiers found employment in May 2016 than the previous month while the number of unemployed dropped by more than 5,000.
According to DWD, the corresponding effect of growth in employment along with a decline in unemployment lowered Indiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to 5.0 percent. The unemployment rate, a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force, declined by 0.2 percent over the previous month. Additionally, the state’s labor force participation rate increased 0.1 percent in May while the nation’s rate decreased 0.2 percent for the second consecutive month. Indiana’s participation rate now stands at nearly three percent above the national average (65.4 percent vs. 62.6 percent).
“Indiana’s labor force participation rate is at the highest point since 2009 and continues to outpace the national average,” said Steven J. Braun, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “Indiana experienced positive gains in employment accompanied by a decrease in unemployment, which suggests that many Hoosier jobseekers, including those joining the workforce for the first time in May, found success in securing gainful employment.”
Commissioner Braun also noted that Indiana’s private sector employment growth since July 2009, the low point of employment, has surpassed the nation (13.7 percent vs. 12.6 percent). Additionally, he referenced that initial unemployment insurance claims for the first 23 weeks of 2016 are at their lowest point since 1987.
