 April Indiana
Employment Report
Labor Force Continues Unprecedented Growth for Fourth-Consecutive
Month
INDIANAPOLIS (May 20, 2016) – Indiana’s labor force continued
growing in April with 20,743 more Hoosiers joining the labor force. Since the
beginning of 2016, Indiana’s labor force has grown by more than 82,000 and by 178,000
since January 2013. Correspondingly, the state’s labor force participation rate
increased 0.4 percent in April while the nation’s rate decreased 0.2 percent.
Indiana continues to outpace the national labor force participation rate average
by two and a half percent (65.3 percent vs. 62.8 percent).
Indiana’s seasonally adjusted
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,
rose by 0.2 percent over the previous month to 5.2 percent in April. This
slight uptick is directly correlated to the large influx of Hoosiers joining
the labor force. Additionally, initial unemployment insurance claims remain at
their lowest level since the early 1970s.
“More than 80,000 Hoosiers joined the workforce in the last four months, which doubles Indiana’s labor
force growth for all of 2015,” said Steven J. Braun, Commissioner of the
Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “Correspondingly, nearly 60,000
more Hoosiers joined the employed ranks in 2016. This suggests Hoosiers are
increasingly confident in finding gainful employment.”
Commissioner Braun also noted that
Indiana’s private sector employment increased by 12,000 in April, bringing
Indiana’s total to its highest point ever. He added that April was the
tenth-consecutive month private sector employment has been above the March 2000
peak and now stands at more than 32,000 jobs above this benchmark period.
 Employment by Sector
The highest levels of growth
occurred in the Manufacturing (3,300), Trade, Transportation and Utilities
(3,300), Professional & Business Services (2,700) and Private
Education & Health Services (1,900) sector. Gains in seven of Indiana’s nine major industry
sectors were only slightly offset with small losses in Government (-1,000) and All
Other (-1,700). Over the past
three years, Indiana’s private sector has grown by nearly 152,000 jobs.
Midwest Unemployment Rates
EDITOR’S
NOTES:
Data are
sourced from March Current Employment Statistics (CES), Local Area Unemployment
Statistics (LAUS) – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
April employment data for Indiana Counties, Cities, and MSA’s
will be available Monday, May 23, 2016 at 12 p.m. pending U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics validation.
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