Illinois Department of Employment Security

Bloomington-Normal lost about 5,600 jobs in 2020 and the McLean County employment base shrunk again in December after six consecutive months of gains after the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bloomington-Normal area economy has nearly 6,000 fewer jobs than it did a year ago, another sign that the pandemic’s economic impact is still very much being felt.

Bloomington-Normal's unemployment rate fell in September for the fifth straight month, although thousands of jobs still haven't returned since the pandemic hit.

Gov. JB Pritzker held off filling top vacancies at Illinois’ unemployment office because he was planning to merge it with another state department.

Then COVID-19 upended the nation.

Bloomington-Normal's unemployment rate continues to recover during the coronavirus pandemic, but the area is still short more than 6,000 jobs compared with a year ago.

Illinois is one of the last states to apply and be approved for a federal program providing an additional $300 in unemployment assistance per week to qualifying residents.

Bloomington-Normal's high unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continued to ease in July, as the jobless rate fell and fewer people sought jobless benefits for the first time.

Ten “frustrated” Republican senators demanded Gov. JB Pritzker allow state offices tasked with processing unemployment claims to reopen in a letter sent exactly five months after Illinois’ first stay-at-home order was issued.

Bloomington-Normal's jobless rate stayed stuck in double digits in June for the third straight month, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday.

The pace of new job losses in Bloomington-Normal caused by the pandemic slowed for a second straight month in June, according to new data from the state.

Bloomington-Normal's jobless rate stayed in the double digits for a second straight month in May, as economic fallout from COVID-19 continued.

One of the last jobs report to precede the full impact COVID-19 is having on the Illinois economy shows job losses in McLean County, despite a drop in the unemployment rate.

The Bloomington-Normal area’s jobless rate declined in December, as the local economy added 400 jobs in the past year, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday.

Bloomington-Normal’s jobless rate fell again in October, with employers adding around 400 jobs over the past year, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday.

The Bloomington-Normal unemployment rate in September dropped nearly half a percentage point from last year as the local workforce grew by 100.

Illinois’ unemployment rate appears to have dropped to a historic low, according to the latest preliminary data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Bloomington-Normal added 300 jobs over the last year as the local unemployment rate dropped nearly a full percentage point.

Bloomington-Normal’s unemployment rate increased in June, though the Twin Cities added jobs over the last year.

State officials say thousands of Illinoisans will have delayed unemployment checks this week due to computer problems.

The Bloomington-Normal area economy has lost 1,000 jobs in the past year, mostly in the financial services sector, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday.

The Bloomington-Normal area economy has lost 1,300 jobs in the past year, helping drive up the unemployment rate, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday.

The jobless rate rose in Bloomington-Normal and 12 other Illinois metro areas in December, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Friday.

Bloomington-Normal is one of three metro areas in Illinois which lost jobs over the last year.

Bloomington-Normal’s jobless rate rose in June, though state officials say that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Bloomington-Normal added 500 jobs over the last year to maintain a share of the lowest unemployment rate in Illinois.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday that the local jobless rate dropped to 3.3 percent in May, down from 3.7 percent in May 2017, totaling 95,000 jobs.

IDES said unemployment rates dropped over-the-year in all of the state’s metro areas.

“For the third consecutive month, the unemployment rate is below the previous year levels in all metro areas,” IDES Director Jeff Mays said in a news release.

The Bloomington-Normal economy has added 1,100 jobs in the past year, as the local jobless rate fell to just 3.8 percent in December, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday.

Bloomington-Normal's jobless rate fell again in September and remains the lowest among all metro areas in the state, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday.