Indiana's unemployment rates rose to 5.8 percent in December.
This was the first time in six months the state's unemployment rate increased and the first month in a year that Indiana's unemployment rate has exceeded the national average, which was at 5.6 percent in December.
State officials blame an influx of job seekers entering the labor force. More than 9,000 Hoosiers re-entered the jobs search last month.
Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Steven Braun says the growth of the state's labor force over the last year has been "extraordinary" and is a tribute to Indiana's improving economy.
Indiana's private sector added 4,000 jobs in December and 51,500 in all of 2014.