INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Indiana's unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.4 percent in June but officials say the state experienced its largest one-month gain in manufacturing jobs in nearly nine years.

The Department of Workforce Development said Thursday that Indiana's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in June reached 8.4 percent, compared with 8.3 percent in May.

It says private sector employment in Indiana grew by 5,300 jobs and the 4,300 new manufacturing jobs was the most since August 2004. The agency says Indiana has the largest percentage of manufacturing jobs as a portion of the private sector in the U.S.

Workforce Development Commissioner Scott Sanders says most of the manufacturing growth was in durable goods, mainly transportation equipment.

Sanders says Indiana's nearly 2.52 million private sector jobs in June was the highest in five years.