More discouraged workers re-entered Indiana’s workforce in January and February than at any time in the last 20 years, an Indiana Department of Workforce Development report said.
Almost 22,000 people were added to the labor force. Of those, 13,800 were discouraged workers.
The higher number of job seekers increased the unemployment rate. By February, it had increased from 8.3% in December 2012 to 8.7%.
“While the extraordinary jump in the Hoosier labor force over the past two months tells us folks are optimistic in Indiana’s economic recovery, the unemployment rate is still too high,” said DWD Commissioner Scott B. Sanders in a March 29 press release.
The higher rate does not show Indiana’s private sector growth. The private sector added 14,000 jobs in January and February.
It grew 3.3% in the last year, over three times the national rate.
“Job growth is certainly moving in the right direction, but there is definitely a great deal more work to do,” Sanders noted.
Indiana has added 182,000 private sector jobs since July 2009, the low point of employment for the state. The sector has grown at a rate of 7.9% compared to 4.9% nationally.
The DWD reported in January that Indiana added 5,700 professional and business sector jobs, the most in the nation, and ranked fifth for overall growth.
Originally published in Ellettsville Journal, 2013. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.