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Indiana's Unemployment Rate, Job Pool Shrank In March

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Indiana’s unemployment rate fell in March to its lowest level in five months.  But the state’s private sector also lost jobs.

The Hoosier unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percent to 5.8-percent in March, the second month in a row the rate went down.  But it's still three-tenths of a percent higher than the national average of 5.5-percent.

But that drop may not be good news: the state’s private sector lost 800 jobs last month, fueled by huge losses – more than 5,000 – in the professional and business services sector. 

And so despite that decrease, the unemployment rate still went down because of a drop in what’s called the labor force participation rate, meaning fewer Hoosiers report looking for a job.  Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Steve Braun says Indiana economic indicators remain largely positive and notes the state’s labor force participation has been above the national average for a year. 

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.