State unemployment rate inches up for August 2008

The IBJ

Joblessness edged up to 6.4 percent in August from 6.3 percent in July, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development said today.

The figure, which is seasonally adjusted and subject to revision, was well over the 4.5 percent rate of August 2007.

Still, the department painted a nuanced picture of Indiana's rate being a half-point below any neighboring state. The U.S. rate was 6.1 percent.

Job growth was nearly stagnant. The state had 4,100 more positions than in July, but 34,100 fewer jobs than a year earlier