Indiana continues to rank as one of the most attractive states for companies to locate and expand, outperforming much of the nation last month in key areas of employment and job growth.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development recently reported the state’s unemployment rate in October remained at 3.5 percent and lower than the national rate of 3.7 percent.

Indiana’s unemployment rate ranks ninth in the nation and has decreased 7.1 percentage points since July 2009-the high point of unemployment in the state.

The October report also showed that more Hoosiers are working than ever before. Private employment reached a preliminary record high of 2.7 million, which is 24,300 above the official December 2017 peak. Indiana has reported private-sector job growth of 25,500 over the past year.

Indiana’s labor force participation rate has now outperformed the national average for 53 consecutive months. In October, the rate stood at 65.1 percent and well above the national average of 62.9 percent.

Locally, the unemployment rate in South Bend-Mishawaka went up, from 3.2% in September to 3.7% in October. The jobless rate also rose in Elkhart County, from 2.3% in September to 2.9% in October.

Indiana ranked second in manufacturing jobs since July 2009. The state ranked seventh in private education & health services jobs added over the month.

Indiana also ranked seventh in construction jobs added over the year; . The state also ranked fifth in financial activities job growth year-to date.