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Hoosier jobless rate rises in July

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says Indiana’s unemployment rate increased for the second straight month in July even though the state’s private sector added jobs for the ninth consecutive month. But state officials say those numbers don’t add up.

Thirty-three hundred private sector jobs were created last month and government hiring surged, leading to an increase in total non-farm employment of more than ten thousand jobs.  But Indiana’s unemployment rate increased to 8.2%. 

The unemployment rate is calculated by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which randomly surveys 1,000 Hoosier homes to determine how many people are either employed, on unemployment or not even looking for work. 

State Department of Workforce Development spokesman Joe Frank says his agency does not agree with the Bureau’s assessment of Indiana’s employment picture.

“The numbers that they’ve shown for June and July would be the same as almost the entire city of Anderson, the entire population of Anderson going from gainfully employed to completely not even in the job market anymore,” Frank said.

Frank says the Department of Workforce Development is discussing the possible discrepancies with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but says the Bureau has no issue with its figures.