May's Unemployment Snapshot

Amber Dodez,
Data Manager, Indiana Business Research Center,
Kelley School of Business, Indiana University

Indiana's unemployment rate for May was 4.8 percent, with 151,850 people unemployed.
Indiana's unemployment rate is well below the nation’s (5.8).
Since February 2003, Indiana's unemployment rate has fallen by 0.7, with an increasing number of Indiana counties experiencing unemployment rates lower than the state average.
Orange County, in south central Indiana, continues to experience the highest unemployment rate (9.5), with 800 residents looking for work, and Hamilton County the lowest (2.4). This has been the case since November 2002.
In terms of sheer numbers, Marion county has the largest number of people seeking work (24,030).
Elkhart and Marshall counties have both improved their employment situation since April. Marshall had the largest percent drop in unemployed (32.4) and Elkhart had the largest absolute decline in the number of unemployed (1,410).
Commerce Region 2 in north central Indiana, which includes Elkhart and Marshall counties, had the largest absolute decline in the number of residents seeking work (3,425) since April.
Commerce Region 4 has the highest unemployment rate (6.2) and Commerce Region 11 has the lowest (3.6).

Inside this Issue