INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The Department of Workforce Development reports Indiana’s unemployment rate dipped to 8.3% in May, down from 8.5% a month earlier, as the state’s private sector added 9,000 jobs.

The agency says the increase in private sector jobs is the largest monthly increase in Indiana since February of 2012. Commissioner Scott Sander says most tangible employment measures seem to be trending in the right direction, saying that is cause for cautious optimism.

Sanders says Indiana has added 45,300 private sector jobs over the past year, more than a third of which have occurred since the start of 2013. He says 13% of private-sector growth over the past year has come from manufacturing.