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Construction Up, Retail Down As Local Jobless Rate Falls Again

Cindy Le
/
WGLT
Construction crews work on the McLean County Law and Justice Center expansion project in October in downtown Bloomington.

Bloomington-Normal's jobless rate sank to 3.8 percent in October, as the local economy added 900 jobs in construction, professional and business services, and other sectors.

The unemployment rate is down from 4.8 percent in October 2016, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported this week. Bloomington-Normal's 3.8 percent jobless rate last month was again the lowest among all metro areas in Illinois, IDES reported.

The Bloomington-Normal economy has added 900 nonfarm jobs in the past year, up to 95,900 total positions, IDES reported. The largest gains were in the construction (added 400 jobs), professional and business services (300 jobs), and government (300) sectors, IDES reported. The sector with the steepest decline was retail, which has lost 400 jobs since October 2016.

There are now around 3,700 unemployed people in the Bloomington-Normal area, IDES reported.

The local jobless rate remains below both the state (4.7 percent) and national (3.9 percent) average unemployment rates, IDES reported.

Here's a look at jobless rates for the past year:

Unemployment
Infogram
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