Unemployment Down From Last Year In All IL Metro Areas

The Illinois Department of Employment Security says unemployment was down from a year ago in all of Illinois' 12 metro areas in May. It was the second straight month of across-the-board, year-over-year declines. 

Department Director Jay Rowell said in a news release Thursday that the numbers reflect growing consumer confidence and discretionary spending.  

The improvement in metro unemployment rates mirrors recent drops in Illinois’ unemployment rate. The department said earlier this month that the state jobless rate fell to 7.5 percent. 

In Champaign-Urbana, May unemployment was at 6.3%, down from 7.1% a year ago. The number of non-farm jobs was up 0.9%. Danville and Decatur both lost non-farm jobs over the past year. But their unemployment numbers were down. Decatur saw one of the largest improvements in the state, dropping from 10.4% to 9.1%. Danville’s rate is 9.4%, down from 10%.  Bloomington-Normal had a jobless rate of 6.0%, tied with Springfield for lowest in the state.

The biggest drop in May was in the Rockford area where unemployment fell from 10.3% a year earlier to 8.9%.

When compared to the month before, unemployment rates were up in Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal and Danville, and flat in Decatur.