INDIANAPOLIS –  Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.4 percent for July and remains lower than the national rate of 3.9 percent. Except for one month when it was equal (October 2014), Indiana’s unemployment rate now has been below the U.S. rate for more than four years.

The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force.

Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 15,564 over the previous month. This was a result of a 2,964 increase in unemployed residents and an increase of 12,600 employed residents. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.38 million, and the state’s 64.8 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 62.9 percent.

In addition, Indiana’s initial unemployment insurance claims continue to be at historical lows.