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Indiana Unemployment Rate Improves Again, Lowest In A Year

Lauren Chapman/IPB

Indiana’s unemployment rate improved in July for the second consecutive month.

That’s despite other, negative employment figures.

The Indiana unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percent in July, down to 3.4 percent. That’s the lowest it’s been in more than a year – and it’s the first time it improved two consecutive months in more than a year and a half.

But the state’s private sector shed 1,300 jobs last month, primarily in the leisure and hospitality, and trade, transportation and utilities sectors.

And in a worrying sign, the state’s labor force declined for the third consecutive month. The labor force measures both those with a job as well as people actively looking for one. And so, it’s often used as a barometer for confidence in the economy.

July marks the first time since the beginning of 2017 Indiana’s labor force worsened three months in a row.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.