Gov touts jobless rate at Lemonade Day kickoff

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Indiana leads the nation in job growth, according to the latest figures from the federal government.

Gov. Mitch Daniels is entering the final months of his second term in office, and his record is under fire from Democrats who hope to see their candidate succeed him. Daniels doesn't miss an opportunity to defend what he's done.

Friday, the governor invited lemonade stands onto the grounds of the Statehouse. It's the launch for Lemonade Day, a program to encourage young people to become entrpreneurs - and a great place to talk about the job statistics that just came out.

“It has to mean something that for a year now we've been growing twice the national average,” Daniels said. “A number that big must mean some positive momentum.”

The numbers show that Indiana unemployment dropped three-tenths of a percent in April, falling below 8 percent for the first time since 2008. The Indiana rate is also below the national average of 8.1 percent.

Job growth numbers put Indiana in first place nationally. The state added over 15,000 private sector jobs in April.

“Absolutely, Indiana is winning the market share game, because we're now understood to be maybe the best state for business,” Daniels said.

It's all about making lemonade from lemons.

The governor said it's hard to read a lot into the statistics from any given month. But he's promoting the state's position now because, while Indiana was first in the nation in job growth for the first time in April, it is sixth in the nation for the calendar year.