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August Indiana Unemployment Rate Lowest In Nine Months

Lynn Friedman
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/lynnfriedman/18263113926

Indiana’s unemployment rate declined in August for the fourth consecutive month, and is now at its lowest level in nine months.

The unemployment rate last month fell to 4.5 percent.

That marks a decline of more than half-a-percent in just four months.

The state’s private sector added 5,600 jobs last month, the fifth consecutive month of private sector job growth.

The increase was led by a surge in professional and business service jobs, while the leisure and hospitality sector also showed strong gains.

Still, the construction and manufacturing industries experienced sharp declines in August.

Indiana’s unemployment rate is now tied for lowest among its neighboring states and is nearly half-a-percent lower than the national average.

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.