Indiana's outlook shows promise.

• Position: Economy of Indiana shows encouraging signs

Indiana's Outlook Shows Promise

With recession still evident, Indiana's economy shows some encouraging signs.

The state's unemployment rate - before adjusting for seasonal variations - dropped 7.3 percent to 5.9 percent in April. The difference is greater than the typical seasonal fall in unemployment; after seasonal adjustment, the jobless rate still dropped 0.2 percent from the March figure.

Seven of the state's major employment centers participates in the April downtrend in unemployment. Anderson's adjusted rate dropped more than a full percentage point, as did Muncie's. Bloomington and Lafayette both reported jobless rates well below the state average, and the Hendricks County rate of 2.3 percent was even lower.

Indiana's May unemployment figures are not yet out, but there is strong reason to believe the state won't mirror the significant...