INDIANAPOLIS, Ind  – Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.3 percent for December and remains lower than the national rate of 4.1 percent. With the exception of 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 decrease of 7,294 over the previous month. This was a result of 4,105 unemployed residents no longer seeking employment within the past four weeks, and a 3,189 decrease in residents employed. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.31 million, and the state’s 63.7 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 62.7 percent.

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