13 out of the 14 Metro areas in the State enjoyed a decrease in unemployment in the month of November. Some areas of the state set records for record low rates according to Illinois Department of Employment Security spokesperson Rebecca Cisco. “Carbondale, Marion, Chicago, and the St. Louis Metro area were the places that saw record low unemployment levels. Four metro areas also tied previous record lows, with those being Bloomington, Champaign, Rockford, and Springfield.”
9 of the Metro Areas experienced year long job growth as well with the largest job gains coming in Chicago, Champaign-Urbana, and the East St. Louis area. Springfield also saw over the year job numbers grow by 1% to 1000 in total. Cisco attributes it to several factors: “We continue to see broad base job growth and the unemployment rate decreasing. It’s encouraging because we are still seeing this growth in the labor force, meaning more people are working and more people are entering the workforce, which is a sign of a strong economy.”
Locally, Morgan County saw a 2% unemployment drop between October and November, down to 3.5%, which is just one tick higher than the state average of 3.4%. All other counties in the area also remain around the state average, with Schuyler coming in at 3.6% as the highest and Brown coming in at 2.2% at the lowest. Overall, in the central region as a whole, the rate sits at 3.8% collectively, slightly better than last month.