INDIANAPOLIS — The month of June brought a ton of new jobs to Indiana and the country as a whole. However, there’s some confusion about certain numbers, and what they mean.
Dr. Matt Will, economics professor at the University of Indianapolis, joined Tony Katz Today to break down the numbers.
Dr. Will says there’s a pretty simple explanation as to why the U.S. added over 850,000 jobs last month.
“Right now, there are 26 states that are trying to reduce their federal unemployment benefits,” Dr. Will explains, “22 have succeeded as of July 1, and we have seen a significant increase in people looking for jobs in those states.”
One number that also saw an increase was the unemployment rate.
Dr. Will says that rise is to be expected.
“It’s [unemployment rate] picking up like the national economy is because more people are looking for jobs,” Dr. Will continues, “they’re being forced into the economy, so that’s why the unemployment rate’s going up because there’s more people in the job market, and that’s a good thing.”
The unemployment number can be a bit tricky to figure out, says Dr. Will.
He explains, “there’s two numbers: a numerator and a denominator, there’s a top and bottom in division, and the number of people seeking employment has gone up, so that’s what happened.”
“Both numbers have gone up, but the number of people seeking unemployment has also gone up, and that’s why you see an increase in unemployment,” Dr. Will tells Tony Katz.
