IN unemployment rate rises slightly

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana's unemployment rate crept upward to 9.9 percent in December from 9.6 percent in November.

The state's preliminary December rate came in Friday near the national jobless rate of 10 percent. More than 300,000 Hoosiers were looking for work in December, compared to nearly 290,000 in November.

Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Teresa Voors says construction employment dropped in December. She also says more people filed unemployment claims after eight straight months of declines.

Indiana still has a lower unemployment rate than each of its neighboring states. Michigan's December rate was 14.6 percent, compared to 11.1 percent in Illinois, 10.9 percent in Ohio and 10.7 percent in Kentucky.