More than 12,000 private sector jobs were added to Indiana’s economic landscape in April, according to a press release from Gov. Mike Pence’s office.
The April employment report, which is issued by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and was released May 20, stated more Hoosiers than ever were working in April of this year.
According to the release, the previous employment peak was February 2016. More than 150,000 private sector jobs have been gained since January 2013.
“The April employment report is a testament to the strength of the Hoosier workforce and our pro-growth economic policies,” Pence said in the release. “With more people working than ever before in our state’s history and recently being named the best place in the Midwest to do business, Indiana’s economy is on a roll.”
According to the release, manufacturing, trade, transportation and utilities were the sectors most responsible for job generation in April.
There were, however, losses: the governmental sector in Indiana lost 1,000 jobs, and the “all other” sector lost 1,700.
This announcement comes with other positive economic news from the past week, including Indiana’s ranking in Moody’s annual Investor Service State Debt Medians reports, according to another release from Pence’s office.
“While states like Illinois and California are struggling with large amounts of public debt, Indiana’s tax-supported debt ranks among the lowest in the nation,” the release stated.
Dan Huge, the director of the Indiana Finance Authority, said in the release keeping tax-supported debt low gives Indiana the chance to be more flexible when reacting to economic changes, “including weathering emergencies or capitalizing on opportunities in an economic expansion.”
Indiana’s workforce has also been in the process of expanding, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s website.
The labor force gained 20,743 new workers in April, adding to continuing growth throughout 2016 — since the beginning of the year, more than 82,000 laborers joined the workforce, according to the website. Since January 2013, 178,000 Hoosiers have joined.
Additionally, while the U.S.’s labor force participation rate decreased by 0.2 percent, Indiana’s increased by 0.4 percent, according to the website. Indiana outpaces the nation’s rate by an average of two and a half percent.
“More than 80,000 Hoosiers joined the workforce in the last four months, which doubles Indiana’s labor force growth for all of 2015,” said Steven Braun, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, in the release. “Correspondingly, nearly 60,000 more Hoosiers joined the employed ranks in 2016. This suggests Hoosiers are increasingly confident in finding gainful employment.”
Governor Pence also announced Indiana has fully paid off the unemployment insurance loan from the federal government, which, according to the DWD website, will end up saving Indiana businesses around $327 million in taxes, or $126 per employee.
According to the site, Indiana started borrowing money to cover unemployment insurance in 2008. In November 2015, Pence directed $250 million go to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development to pay off the loan.
Eliminating this amount frees Hoosiers from the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), which was blocking the path to hiring employees.
“Governor Pence believes that removing this burden on employers will free up resources that can be invested in hiring new employees, growing existing companies, expanding employee training and increasing wages,” the website states.
Since the loan has been paid off, Indiana workers will no longer have to pay up to $168 per employee in taxes in 2016 — that number has now dropped to $42 per employee.
Anicka Slachta
