Local unemployment numbers fell for the seventh straight month. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the seventh straight month of decline in unemployment is also true for the rest of the state. Jobs were up in all fourteen major metropolitan areas in Illinois.
Locally, Morgan County’s unemployment rate fell to 3.8%. A similar decline occurred in neighboring counties of Scott, Cass, Brown, Sangamon, and Greene. Most all of West Central Illinois is below 4% unemployment.
The largest job growth in the state metro areas were in Carbondale, Chicago, and the Quad Cities. The industries that saw job growth in a majority of metro areas included: Leisure and Hospitality; Transportation, Warehousing and Public Utilities; Wholesale Trade, Other Services and Government; Manufacturing; Mining and Construction, Professional and Business Services and Education and Health Services.