IDES

The majority of big Illinois cities recorded job increases last month compared with October of last year. Bloomington-Normal was not one of them.

The July unemployment rate for the Bloomington-Normal area labor market has jumped more than a point from the same time last year.

The Bloomington-Normal labor market saw the second highest unemployment rate increase in the state in March. The increase was more than half a point. The 4.2% jobless rate is still the lowest among major Illinois metro areas.

The jobless rate in the Bloomington-Normal area ticked up to 4.4% in January, up from 3.9% a year ago, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Wednesday. That increase comes despite the Twin City economy has 3,600 more jobs in January than it had a year ago, according to state data.

Bloomington-Normal and the rest of McLean County have a worker shortage. So does much of the rest of the nation. Policymakers and educators are grappling with a multiyear challenge to increase the supply of workers who can keep the area financially strong and vital.

Fraudulent unemployment claims are skyrocketing across Illinois as scammers try to access jobless benefits using employees' Social Security numbers.The…