Indiana’s unemployment rate has dropped by two-thirds since the pandemic lockdown caused a spike in April. But the numbers may not be as good as they appear.

Indiana’s workforce shrank by 20,000 in September, and is down 60,000 since February.

I-U Kelley School of Business economist Kyle Anderson says a disproportionate number of those missing workers are women. He suggests a lot of them are working moms staying home because of school closures or other family obligations.

Indiana’s unemployment rate in September was 6.2%, nearly two full points below the national rate of 7.9%. Anderson says the “real” number is more like nine-percent.

The national jobless rate fell another point in October. Indiana’s October numbers come out next week.