Bloomington-Normal continues to show a labor recovery after an economic downturn during the height of the pandemic.
Monthly data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), released Thursday, show the Twin City labor market has gained 4,100 jobs since June 2021.
That puts the Bloomington-Normal employment market (which includes McLean and DeWitt counties) at 92,300, while the jobless rate dropped to 3.9% — down from 5.3% a year ago.
The largest job growth in McLean County over the last year came at Rivian as it ramped up to producing electric vehicles. While the company has started to trim jobs, it’s expected few if any positions will be lost at its plant in Normal.
The IDES report shows government with the biggest job gains, adding 1,000, along with Professional and Business Services (+900), Leisure and Hospitality (+900), and Construction (+500). The Retail Trade (-100) and Financial Activities (-100) sectors lost jobs over the last year.
Bloomington-Normal saw the third highest rate of job growth in Illinois in the last year at 4.6%, trailing only Chicago and Rockford.
Statewide unemployment in June was 4.7%. That’s down from 7.2% in June 2021.
