ANDERSON: For the third consecutive month the local unemployment rate has increased to its highest level since last March, despite the fact that more people were working in the month of February.
The unemployment rate for Anderson climbed from 6.6 percent in January to 7.3 percent in February, but remained considerably lower than the 7.8 percent rate of February, 2015.
Statistics from Indiana Workforce Development show Anderson still trails the state, at 5.4 percent, and is above the national average, which is 5.2 percent, for the unemployment rate not seasonally adjusted. Despite the climb in the unemployment rate for February the number of local residents in the labor pool and the number of people who found work increased.
State statistics show that the number of people employed from January to February in Anderson increased by 14 to 22,179 and the number of people unemployed increased by 185 to 1,751. The labor force increased by 199 to 23,930. Compared to a year ago there are 824 more people working with the labor pool climbing by 779. The number of people unemployed decreased in the past year by 45.
Anderson’s unemployment rate is the highest since last March when it was 7.6 percent. The unemployment rate for Madison County climbed to 6.5 percent for February, up from 6 percent in January. A year ago the unemployment rate for the county was at 6.9 percent. For February there were 59,953 people in the labor force with 56,057 people working and 3,886 out of work.
“In the past two months, more than 35,000 Hoosiers rejoined the labor force and found employment due to the strong Hoosier economy,” Steven J. Braun, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, said. “This growth is even more impressive when compared to the 11,376 individuals who joined the labor force in January and February of 2015.”
Private sector employment in Indiana increased by 6,900 jobs in February, the state agency reported. The highest levels of growth occurred in the trade, transportation & utilities which added more than 5,000 jobs. Those gains were partially offset by decreases in the manufacturing section that lost 2,600 jobs in the month and the loss of 3,000 jobs in the professional and business services sector.
