For the first time in more than five years, Indiana‘s unemployment rate is below 7%.
The Department of Workforce Development says the unemployment rate in December was 6.9%, down from November‘s rate of 7.3%.
The rate dropped even though Indiana lost 4,800 private sector jobs in December.
Economists say that was not enough to offset November‘s enormous job gains of 25,000.
For all of 2013, state officials say Indiana created 42,600 private sector jobs, about the same as in 2012.
The state‘s unemployment rate is still slightly above the national rate of 6.7%.