Indiana unemployment rate falls below 5 percent for 1st time since recession’s

The unadjusted rate for May was 5.7 percent, the third month of small increases.

Economists say the strongest economy is one in which the labor pool grows, jobs are added and the jobless rate falls.

North Carolina’s jobless rate has inched up for the fourth month as it diverges from the declining national rate. The May rate was 5.7 percent.

However, the ranks of the employed dropped by 4,097 people in June, the jobless roster grew by 4,810 people, and the state lost 3,100 non-farm jobs.

Allendale County had the highest unemployment rate in June, at 11.5 percent.

The number of people working in the state that month reached a record estimate of almost 2,110,000.

Since June 2012, 64,269 more people have found jobs, the agency said.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond senior economist Rick Kaglic, based in Charlotte, told reporters that sectors with the biggest declines besides government were those that tend to reflect seasonal trends, like hospitality and construction.

Steven J. Braun, commissioner of the state Department of Workforce Development, chalked up the improved jobs performance to Indiana employers adding 66,000 jobs to the labor force since January 2013. The losses were led by declines in the trade, transportation and utilities sector and private educational and health services. Kentucky’s rate is the next lowest, at 5.1 percent, with Ohio at 5.2 percent.