Indiana Unemployment Rate Worsens Again

Indiana’s unemployment rate rose again last month to 3.5 percent – its highest rate this year.

That’s despite other, positive signs for the Hoosier State’s economy.

The Indiana private sector added 3,600 jobs last month. Gains came from the financial sector and the construction industry.

And the number of Hoosiers with a job or actively looking for one grew last month by more than 11,000. That measure – the state’s labor force – has increased seven consecutive months. And labor force growth is viewed as a sign of optimism in the economy.

Yet the state’s unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in nearly a year. And August marked three months in a row in which the rate went up – the state’s worst stretch since the height of the recession more than eight years ago.