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B-N's Jobless Rate Falls As Economy Adds Professional Services, Leisure Jobs

Mark Lennihan
/
The Associated Press
Retail trade lost 300 positions in the past year in Bloomington-Normal.

Bloomington-Normal’s jobless rate continued its decline in July, as the local economy added more jobs in professional and business services and leisure and hospitality.

The Bloomington-Normal area’s unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent in July, down from 5.3 percent in July 2016, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday. The local jobless rate remains among the lowest for any metro area in the state.

There were 92,400 nonfarm jobs in the Bloomington-Normal area in July, up 1,900 positions from a year ago. The biggest gains were in professional and business services (added 600), leisure and hospitality (+500), government (+400), construction (+300), and financial activities (+300). Retail trade lost 300 positions, and manufacturing lost 200, according to IDES data.

Bloomington-Normal’s jobless rate of 4.5 percent is slightly lower than the statewide average (4.9 percent) and the national average (4.6 percent).

Here is a closer look at local, statewide, and national unemployment rates:

Unemployment
Infogram
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