Indiana’s jobless rate fell from 4% in September to 3.5% in October.

This is according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The national jobless rate in October was 4.6%. 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 decrease of 9,183 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 7,030 unemployed residents and a decrease of 2,153 employed residents.

Indiana's total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stood at 3.33 million in October, and the state’s 62.7% labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 61.6%.

The state said private sector employment increased by 66,000 over the year and increased by 14,600 over the previous month.

The monthly increase is primarily due to gains in the manufacturing (5,800) and the trade, transportation and utilities (4,100) sectors. Gains were offset by losses in the private education and health services (-1,000) and all other job sectors including, mining, logging, information, and other services except public administration, (-200) sectors.

Total private employment stood at 2,670,500 in October, which is 70,000 below the December 2019 peak, the state said.