Statewide unemployment hits 10 percent

Indiana’s unemployment rate rose slightly in April, reaching 10 percent for the first time since September.

Figures released Friday by the state Department of Workforce Development show the jobless rate went up one-tenth of a percentage point from the 9.9 percent level in March.
The agency reports nearly 309,000 people were looking for work during April. That’s down from 321,000 listed an unemployed in April 2009, when the state’s jobless rate was 10.5 percent.

Indiana’s non-farm employment grew by about 23,000 jobs in April, with the biggest increases in the leisure and hospitality and the professional and business services sectors.

The Indiana unemployment rate is lower than any surrounding states, while the national rate is 9.9 percent.