Indiana jobless rate holds at 9 percent for 2nd month

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s unemployment rate remained steady at 9 percent for the second straight month in December even as the state added 12,000 private sector jobs.

The state Department of Workforce Development said Indiana’s jobless rate held steady in December because 17,200 Indiana residents began looking for work during the month. That’s the largest monthly increase in more than 35 years.

Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Mark W. Everson called December “one of the best months for job creation in over a decade.”

The state agency said Tuesday that about 275,000 people were listed as unemployed in Indiana during December, and that Indiana’s labor force has grown by 2.2 percent since July.

Indiana’s 9.0 percent jobless rate was below the December national unemployment rate of 8.5 percent