The Bloomington metropolitan area’s unemployment fell in December — from 4.2% in November to 3.9% — according to Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary data released Wednesday.
That number is a slightly larger swing than the national 0.1% decrease. It’s also lower than Indiana’s overall December unemployment rate of 4.5%.
However, unemployment is markedly higher than December 2023, which had a rate of 2.3%. Still, the total number of people employed is up from 76,361 in December 2023 to 78,053 last December. The amount of people unemployed rose from 2,070 to 3,128 in that same period.
The Federal Reserve says employment levels have stabilized as it continues its fight against inflation.
Last week, the Fed kept its federal funds rate unchanged at between 4.25%-4.5% after three cuts in 2024. Lower interest rates essentially make borrowing money cheaper — higher interest rates do the opposite, constricting a rapidly expanding economy’s growth and helping combat inflation.
The Consumer Price Index rose 2.9% at an annualized rate in December.
Wage growth in the Bloomington metro, at least in the private sector, has improved over the past several years but stagnated recently. Average hourly earnings were at around $28/hour in December 2023 and nearly $30/hour in December last year.
