The July unemployment rate for the Bloomington-Normal area labor market jumped more than a point from the same time last year.
All major metropolitan areas in the state saw rising unemployment. Bloomington-Normal had the third largest increase, behind Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, and Danville.
“Long term, consistent job growth throughout the state continues to fuel and motivate eager job seekers and employers to actively engage in the expanding economy,” said Deputy Governor Andy Manar.
The Twin City jobless rate is usually close to the lowest in the state. But the Illinois Department of Employment Security said four other metro areas in the state now have lower unemployment figures than the 5.5% rate for the McLean Dewitt-County region. The Peoria area had 6.1% unemployment in July, up more than a point from the same time last year.
The Bloomingto-Normal metro area still has among the largest job growth figures in the state for the 12-month period — up 700 non-farm jobs from July of last year, or 0.7%. That’s behind only Champaign-Urbana and Carbondale-Marion.
The largest workforce declines happened in the Quad Cities, Lake and Kenosha counties, and the Danville area.
The Manufacturing, and Leisure and Hospitality sectors had the largest job growth for the Bloomington MSA. Employment declined in Professional and Business Services, and Financial Activities.
