The Bloomington-Normal unemployment rate in September dropped nearly half a percentage point from last year as the local workforce grew by 100.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security on Thursday said the Bloomington-Normal area's unemployment rate was 3.6% in September, down from 4% a year ago.
The biggest job gains were in the Leisure and Hospitality (+300), Educational and Health Services (+200), Construction (+100), and Government (+100) sectors, IDES reported. Job losses were seen in Manufacturing (-300), Professional and Business Services (-100), Other Services (-100), and Wholesale Trade (-100).
There were an estimated 3,440 unemployed people in the Bloomington-Normal labor force last month.
The statewide unemployment rate fell last month to 3.6%—a historic low for Illinois. That mirrors a national trend in which unemployment reached 3.5% last month, the lowest it has been in 50 years, according to The White House.
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