The Bloomington metropolitan area’s unemployment rate dropped 1.1% from July to August, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday.
The drop — from 5.6% to 4.5% — coincided with a typical jump in employment every August as students return to IU. July’s unemployment rate of 5.6% was the highest since August 2020.
The total number of people employed is down slightly from last August, 74,953 to 75,001. The number of people unemployed rose in that time too, from 2,734 to 3,570.
The numbers come as data have continued to signal an economic cooldown across America, along with a small rise in unemployment nationwide. Annualized U.S. inflation was 2.5% in August, nearing the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The Fed subsequently cut the federal funds rate for the first time in four years last month, making borrowing money cheaper.
Higher interest rates make borrowing money more expensive, which constricts a rapidly expanding economy’s growth, and vice versa. A report from the Joint Economic Committee in Congress found cumulative inflation at 18% from January 2021 to February 2024 in Indiana, just under the national figure of 18.6%. That’s made the average Indiana household pay almost $900 more per month for the same expenses as in 2021, according to the report.
Average wages grew over the same time in the Bloomington metro but have leveled out more recently. For private sector employees, that now sits around $30 per hour compared to about $27 per hour in August 2023.
