The unemployment rate for August rose for the Bloomington-Normal area.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) said Thursday that the 5% jobless rate is more than a point higher than at the same time last year (3.7%). That means more people are looking for work because the number of people working also rose by 1,500 jobs.
IDES data for the Bloomington-Normal area labor market, which includes McLean and DeWitt counties, shows Retail Trade (+500) and Manufacturing (+500) saw the largest payroll gains since August 2022. The area saw job losses in Mining-Construction (-200), Professional-Business Services (-100) and Information (-100).
Despite the increase, Bloomington-Normal’s unemployment rate of 5% is second lowest in the state (along with Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights) and trails only the Quad Cities part of Illinois at 4.6%.
Rockford has the highest unemployment of any metro area in Illinois at 7.4%.
The statewide jobless rate for August was 5.3%.
