Indiana Unemployment Rate Grows For 4th Consecutive Month

The Hoosier unemployment rate rose 0.1 percent in October to 3.9 percent, its highest level since March.

And while the increase wasn’t as large as it’s been the last couple of months, it’s the first time in six years the number has gone up four months in a row. And the increase over that span – nearly 1 percent – is the largest four-month spike since 2009, at the height of the recession.

The state’s private sector did add jobs for the second consecutive month – 2,500 in October, led by growth in the financial activities sector.

But more than 14,000 more Hoosiers overall were unemployed last month than in September. And as a result, the state’s labor force declined for the first time in three months.

The labor force counts people who have a job or are actively looking for one. And a decline in the labor force is often viewed as a sign of pessimism in the economy.