INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana's unemployment rate soared to 8.2 percent in December, marking one of the largest increases in jobless rates in the nation.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Tuesday more than 260,000 Hoosiers were unemployed in December, up from about 220,000 in November. Indiana's unemployment rate climbed 1.1 percentage points from 7.1 percent in November.
Indiana and South Carolina were the two states with the most dramatic one-month increases in unemployment. The national unemployment rate for December jumped to a 16-year high of 7.2 percent.
The head of Indiana's Department of Workforce Development says layoffs in manufacturing, construction and retail were partly to blame for the state's increase in unemployment.
