INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has decreased to 4.2 percent in November from October. The Hoosier state was the second highest state in the nation for job growth in November.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development says Friday that businesses added more than 13,000 new jobs last month. Officials note that the unemployment rate in the state is below the national average of 4.6 percent as well as all of Indiana’s neighboring states.
Indiana’s unemployment rate has dropped 4.2 percentage points since January 2013, surpassing the national decline of 3.4 percentage points.
Indiana’s labor force, which includes workers and those seeking employment, has increased by more than 67,000 over the last year and more than 160,000 since January 2013. The state’s labor force has grown by 4.9 percentage points since July 2009, surpassing the nation’s growth rate of 3.2 percentage points.
The Labor Department says unemployment rates fell sharply in 18 states and were little changed in 32 states.
Florida reported the largest job gain in November, adding 29,600 jobs, followed by Indiana, which gained 13,100 jobs, and South Carolina, with 12,500.
The largest drops in unemployment rates last month occurred in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Missouri, each of which saw a decline of 0.4 percent.
Nationwide, the unemployment rate fell to a nine-year low of 4.6 percent last month, as employers added 178,000 jobs.
