Job gains in leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, private education and health services helped lower May’s unemployment rate in Indiana.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s May employment report, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics Data, reported the state’s jobless rate for May was 12.3%, a drop from 16.9% in April. The state’s jobless rate in May 2019 was 3.3%.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought economic activity to a halt in early spring as government officials enacted stay-at-home orders to limit public interaction to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Experts have said the crisis likely would lead to unemployment spikes.
Indiana’s May jobless rate was lower than the national rate of 13.3%.
Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 110,780 over the previous month, the state said. This was a result of a decrease of 156,903 unemployed residents and an increase of 267,683 employed residents.
Indiana's total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stood at 3.33 million in May. The state’s 63.2% labor force participation rate was above the national rate of 60.8%, the state said.
The state said private sector employment decreased by 315,000 over the year and increased by 90,100 from the previous month. May’s increase came through gains in leisure and hospitality (34,700), manufacturing (18,100), private education and health services (10,700).
Total private employment in Indiana in May was 2,422,800, which is 326,500 below the January 2019 peak, the state said.
