Indiana’s unemployment rate went up once again in February, though the state’s private sector marked the 20th consecutive month of job growth.
Indiana’s private sector added 5,800 jobs last month. And since July of 2009, the low point of the recession, the state has created jobs in all but four months. But at 8.7% in February, Indiana’s unemployment rate is at its highest level in more than a year.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development said that is because of a continued influx of Hoosiers into the labor force, including people who are getting a job or are actively looking for one again.
The labor force increased by 2o,000 people in the first two months of the year, marking the biggest two-month jump in nearly two decades.