Indiana's labor market strength was unchallenged in the first two months of 2023. February's unemployment rate was 3.1 percent in preliminary Federal data released Tuesday, marking a third consecutive month at that almost-historic low.

State officials say some of the tight rules on unemployment benefits end up clogging up the system, preventing people from quickly getting paid and costing the state a lot of money especially during economic downturns. A bill to alleviate some of DWDs administrative burden and expedite the process of getting more money to beneficiaries heads to the governors desk after passing the Senate Tuesday.

Lawmakers hope to streamline the process to reduce the amount of work the state has to do to give claimants their money.

It appears for now employers are still posting more jobs than the states available job seekers can fill. Experts say one cause of that could be a lack of access to affordable child care in Indiana. A state Senate committee is considering funding a pilot program that would split costs between families, employers and the state to bring more parents back into the workforce.

More than 500 people are already scheduled to lose jobs to layoffs and site closures in the first half of next year as experts predict a recession. That can be a pretty scary outlook, but new preliminary labor market estimates tell a more complicated story.

Some companies are still expanding operations and hiring in Indiana despite the current tight labor market and warning signs of an economic downturn. E-commerce packing and shipping company Radial is one example.

The total number of employed people in Indiana hit a decade high in July, new preliminary federal estimates show. At the same time, the state's unemployed population increased slightly.

The past few months has given workers more power in the labor market. In June, Indiana had about four active job seekers for every 10 job openings, according to new federal estimates released Thursday.

The closure could put 1,132 people out of work. Of the 2,089 employed at warehouse before the fire, 957 have accepted new positions with the company.

Indiana recorded a 2.2 percent unemployment rate in March. It's the third-lowest rate in the country and yet another record low for the state.