The Bloomington-Normal job market grew by 700 over the last year.
According to data released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security [IDES], a bulk of the new jobs are in Leisure and Hospitality. That sector added 600 jobs, while Private Education and Health Services [+200], Mining and Construction [+200], Manufacturing [+100], and Retail Trade [+100] also saw job growth.
Professional and Business Services [-300] and Financial Activities [-200] lost jobs.
The labor force has grown back to 99,000 nonfarm workers in the market that includes McLean and DeWitt counties.
The Bloomington-Normal unemployment rate fell to 4.8%. That’s up from 4.6% in August 2023, but below the 5.5% mark set in July. The Twin Cities is one of five metro areas in Illinois that saw a rise in its unemployment rate over the previous year.
Springfield and the Metro East [St. Louis] tied for the lowest unemployment in Illinois at 4.6%. Danville had the highest jobless rate at 6.9%.
Champaign-Urbana saw the largest job growth over the last year, adding 5,400 positions to the labor force.
The state unemployment average is 5.5%.
