Indiana unemployment rate improves

Indiana's jobless rate has dropped to its lowest level in more than five years. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development says the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December dropped 0.4 percent to 6.9 percent in December. That’s the lowest rate since October 2008. The jobless number also remains lower than all of Indiana’s neighboring states. One of the major factors in Indiana's falling unemployment rate is the number of individuals returning to the labor force. The Hoosier work force increased by nearly 6,000 in December and has grown by more than 21,000 over the past three months. Workforce Development Commissioner Scott Sanders says about 218,000 Hoosiers remain jobless, but that’s a lower number than at any time in the past five years.