Story From Indystar.com
Indiana’s jobless rate remained stagnant at 10 percent for the second consecutive month in May, the state announced today.
Although the state boasted 6,300 private-sector jobs were created in May, the numbers showed losses in three areas — trade, transportation and utilities; construction; and financial activities — offset any gains.
Increases were reported in professional and business services; private education and health services; and manufacturing.
The impact of short-term U.S. Census hiring accounted for an additional 5,200 jobs in the government sector, the state reported.
Indiana’s jobless rate was higher than the U.S. figure of 9.7 percent, but below rates in neighboring states: Illinois, 10.8 percent; Ohio, 10.7 percent; Kentucky, 10.4 percent; and Michigan, 13.6 percent.
The employment report for May follows the state hitting the 10 percent jobless rate again in April after being just below that mark for six months.
The state Department of Workforce Development reported that nearly 309,000 people were looking for work during April. Indiana’s unemployment rate peaked at 10.6 percent last June.
The national jobless rate dipped to 9.7 percent in May from 9.9 percent, mainly because hundreds of thousands of people gave up searching for work and were no longer counted.
