13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Indiana's October unemployment rate at 9.8 percent

Indiana's October unemployment rate at 9.8 percent

Rich Van Wyk/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis - More Hoosiers are out of work, inching the state's unemployment rate back up. But there are encouraging signs behind the numbers and some people headed back on the job.

Kevin Rankin was a chef, but after 11 months and 21 days without a job, he's overjoyed to be unloading batteries in a warehouse.

"It feels good to be working again," he said. "It pays the bills and gets the job done."

 The outlook for other job hunters is somewhat encouraging. While the state's unemployment rose to 9.8 percent in October, the jobless rate is holding steady and lower than the nationwide unemployment rate, which continues to rise.

"Overall, it is a good sign in terms of how our unemployment numbers have stayed stable, compared to the rest of the country," said Rachel Smith, University of Indianapolis.

The recession continues to hit different parts of the economy differently. Indiana's manufacturing and hospitality industries lost nearly 11,000 jobs last month. Meanwhile, the construction, business services and financial industries created 8,400 jobs.

Jeanine Highbaugh filled out another job application, hoping the numbers finally work in her favor.

"Some people say they are not hiring, but I still put in applications, just in case one day they will call me for an interview," Highbaugh said.

Manpower employment services say more companies are calling, needing more workers.

"It's getting better. It's getting better all the time," said Manpower's Ramona Schaefer.

Better, but not great. The auto and retail industries are key to an economic recovery continuing to struggle.

"The concern is retail. As we approach the holiday season and the fact we're not going to see the level of sales we normally do," Smith said.

However, there is also relief that Indiana's free-falling economy appears to have leveled off.

From the Associated Press:

Indiana's unemployment rate of 9.8 percent in October is slightly above September's adjusted jobless rate of 9.7 percent, but state officials said the change is statistically insignificant.

Numbers released Friday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development show that Indiana's October jobless rate stayed below the national unemployment rate of 10.2 percent for that month.

Indiana had been above the national rate from October 2008 until September 2009.

The new figures show that more than 291,000 residents were looking for work in October, up from 289,000 in September. The numbers also showed a decrease in the state's labor force, which could be a sign that more discouraged workers are giving up their job searches.

 (Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)