Indiana’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.0 percent for October. The national rate is 6.9 percent.

The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force.

Indiana’s labor force had a net decrease of 7,271 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 41,803 unemployed residents and an increase of 34,532 employed residents.

Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.34 million, and the state’s 63.1 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 61.7 percent.