Indiana continued to outperform much of the U.S. in October in several key areas of employment and job growth, the state’s Department of Workforce Development said.
The state’s unemployment rate in October was 3.5 percent, which is where it has been for three straight months. Indiana’s October jobless rate also was lower than the national rate of 3.7 percent.
Indiana’s unemployment rate ranks ninth in the nation and has decreased 7.1 percentage points since July 2009—the high point of unemployment in the state.
Below is a breakdown of where Indiana ranks nationally in certain employment categories:
- Second in manufacturing jobs added (104,600) since July 2009;
- Seventh in private education and health services jobs added (2,500) over the month;
- Seventh in construction jobs added (11,100) over the year; and
- Fifth in financial activities job growth (3.2 percent) year-to date
The state said October data also showed that more Hoosiers were working than ever before. Private employment reached a preliminary record high of 2.7 million, which is 24,300 above the official December 2017 peak. Indiana has reported private-sector job growth of 25,500 during the past year.
The state said Indiana’s labor force participation rate has outperformed the national average for 53 consecutive months. In October, the rate stood at 65.1 percent, which is above the national average of 62.9 percent.
