Job growth mostly leveled off in 2023 in Bloomington-Normal after several years of gains.
The Bloomington-Normal labor market, which includes McLean and DeWitt counties, saw a net gain of 100 jobs from November 2022 to November 2023, according to data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
The area’s nonfarm payroll shows 99,200 workers as of November 2023.
The largest job gains were in Retail Trade (+400), Government (+300), Manufacturing (+100) and Educational and Health Services (+100).
Construction-Mining (-300) and Professional-Business Services (-300) saw the most job losses, along with Financial Activities (-100) and Information (-100).
The Twin Cities' jobless rate dropped to 3.4% in November. That’s up slightly from the previous November (3.2%) and it remains the lowest jobless rate in Illinois.
The unemployment rate rose in 11 of the state’s 14 metro areas over the last year.
Rockford has the highest unemployment of any metro area in Illinois at 5.2%.
Unemployment statewide is 4.2%, the same as it was in November 2022.
