INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana's unemployment rate dipped slightly to 8.0% for October as officials say the state added 7,700 private sector jobs.
Figures released Tuesday by the state Department of Workforce Development show Indiana's jobless rate declined from September's 8.2%, with nearly 235,000 people looking for jobs last month.
Elkhart County, which once had a jobless rate over 20% at the height of the recession, is now at 8.3%, while LaGrange County is now at 6.8% after having more than 19% of its workforce involuntarily on the sidelines during the economic crisis.
Unemployment in St. Joseph County stands at 8.8%, Starke County at 8.9%, Kosciusko County at 6.4%, Marshall County at 7.7%, Fulton County at 7.6% and Pulaski County at 6.1%.
The Indiana unemployment level hasn't changed much since reaching 7.9% in April after going down from 9.3% in the middle of last year.
Workforce Development commissioner Scott Sanders says Indiana has been outpacing the national job-growth rate in sectors such as manufacturing and construction.
Indiana's October jobless rate is slightly higher than the national 7.9% and better than its surrounding states other than Ohio. Sullivan and Fayette counties have the state's highest unemployment rates at just over 10 percent.
