Unemployment dropped slightly in Indiana last month and is just below the national rate.
The good news for Indiana is that unemployment continues a steady decline.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development reported a two-tenths of a percent drop in the unemployment rate for last month, putting it at 9.6 percent.
The figure is below the national rate of 10 percent.
The Hoosier state also reports the lowest unemployment rate of any of its Midwest neighbors.
The state’s manufacturing sector added 5,200 positions last month, with most attributed to the calling back of laid-off autoworkers.
The bad news is that private education and financial services continue to lay off workers in Indiana.
And with the state’s governor announcing funding cuts for both higher and secondary education, unemployment could creep back up as tax revenues continue to decline.