Illinois unemployment by metro area
Metropolitan Area - April 2013 April 2012
Bloomington-Normal 5.8 6.2
Champaign-Urbana 6.6 7.1
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville 9.3 8.8
- 8.9 9.1
Davenport-Moline-Rock Isl. 6.2 6.8
- 10.3 9.5
Kankakee-Bradley 9.8 10.6
Lake-Kenosha, IL-WI 7.7 8.1
- 7.9 7.2
- 9.9 10.9
- 6.4 6.8
St. Louis (IL-Section) 7.4 8.6
Source: Illinois Department of Employment Security
Iroquois and Ford County unemployment rates dropped slightly last month, down from figures in April 2012.
Kankakee County unemployment is listed at 9.8%. That’s down from 10.6 in April of last year.
The Bloomington area still tends to have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state in large part because of the types of employment you have there,” said Greg Rivara, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Employment Security, citing larger firms and jobs tied to higher education. “You have entities that tend to weather economic downturns better than others.”
The Bloomington-Normal area’s unemployment is at 5.8%, down from 6.2 in 2012.
Retail trade has been down statewide, and Rivara speculated inclement weather may be one factor.
Other counties and their April 2013 (April 2012) rates include: DeWitt, 7.3 percent (7.5); Ford, 6.8 percent (7.9); Iroquois, 7.2 percent (7.6); LaSalle, 9.7 percent (10.2); Livingston, 7.4 percent (7.4); Logan, 7.3 percent (7.2); Tazewell, 7.7 percent (6.9); and Woodford, 6.6 percent (5.8).
9.4 FM, WGFA
