Department of Numbers

Bloomington, Indiana Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Bloomington fell 1.2 percentage points in August 2020 to 5.1%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 1.3 percentage points lower than the Indiana rate. The unemployment rate in Bloomington peaked in April 2020 at 11.2% and is now 6.1 percentage points lower. You can also compare Bloomington unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate August 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
National 8.4% -1.8 +4.7
Indiana 6.4% -1.5 +3.2
Bloomington 5.1% -1.2 +1.8
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with August 2020 data as September metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Bloomington, Indiana, National

Bloomington, Indiana monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Bloomington, Indiana Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Bloomington peaked in April 2020 at 8,164. There are now 4,008 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area.

Unemployed Persons August 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
Bloomington 4,156 -691 +1,571

Number of Unemployed Persons

Bloomington, Indiana Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Indiana
Unemployment Rate		 Bloomington
Unemployment Rate		 Bloomington
Unemployed
September
2020		 7.9% — — —
August
2020		 8.4% 6.4% 5.1% 4,156
July
2020		 10.2% 7.9% 6.3% 4,847
June
2020		 11.1% 11.1% 8.4% 6,571
May
2020		 13.3% 12.3% 8.0% 6,569
April
2020		 14.7% 17.5% 11.2% 8,164
March
2020		 4.4% 3.0% 3.2% 2,439
February
2020		 3.5% 3.1% 3.1% 2,498
January
2020		 3.6% 3.1% 3.2% 2,573
December
2019		 3.5% 3.2% 3.2% 2,573
November
2019		 3.5% 3.2% 3.2% 2,581
October
2019		 3.6% 3.2% 3.3% 2,592

1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩

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