Unemployment

An economist says there are likely several reasons why the Bloomington-Normal area workforce shrunk over the last year even as the economy has reopened from pandemic restrictions.

Bloomington-Normal is the only metro area in Illinois that lost jobs over the last year, even as the economy re-emerges from COVID pandemic restrictions.

Some McLean County residents say the end of expanded COVID unemployment benefits is not the only reason they delayed returning to the workforce.

Expanded jobless benefits in the U.S. are set to expire next week. The two U.S. House members who represent Bloomington-Normal told McLean County business leaders they believe allowing those benefits to expire will put more Americans back to work.

Bloomington-Normal has the lowest unemployment rate in the state, but hiring has stalled in recent months. According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the Twin City area has added 800 jobs over the last year, but the area workforce has dropped in each of the last four months.

The head of Bloomington-Normal's economic development arm said during a community briefing the economy is surging. Economic Development Council Director Patrick Hoban said during the quarterly BN By The Numbers event a labor shortage remains, but economic activity boomed as the pandemic eased..

Bloomington-Normal's unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% in May as more businesses emerged from pandemic restrictions.

The McLean County Chamber of Commerce is hosting a walk-up job fair Thursday, June 3, as Bloomington-Normal employers seek to fill more than 1,200 job openings.

Bloomington-Normal added about 1,300 jobs last month as the economy continues to recover.

The Bloomington-Normal area labor market had 5% percent unemployment last month. The state Department of Employment Security reports the March figure is…