Unemployment down, jobs up over the year in Twin-Cities

Posted on September 26, 2019
The unemployment rate in Bloomington-Normal dropped under 4% over the last year. (Photo Pixabay)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – Jobs were up over the year in Bloomington-Normal and all 14 Illinois metro areas saw a decline in the jobless rate.

The Twin-Cities added 300 jobs compared to August of last year, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

“We experienced positive job growth in 12 of our 14 metro areas,” said IDES spokesperson Sam Salustro.  “We saw especially good results out of Carbondale, Danville, and Champaign.”

Compared to last year, the unemployment rate dropped almost a whole percentage point in Bloomington-Normal to 3.6%. The IDES said all 14 metro areas and all counties saw a decline in the jobless rate.

“We saw record unemployment rates in Carbondale and the Metro East.  We’ve had a number of months now we’ve seen very solid job growth and it’s great to see it continue statewide,” Salustro said.

The industry sectors recording job growth include leisure and hospitality, government, mining and construction, manufacturing, and professional and business services.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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