Unemployment

The Bloomington-Normal labor market, which includes all of McLean and DeWitt counties, lost 2,700 jobs in manufacturing from February 2024 to February 2025.

January's unemployment edged down slightly in Bloomington-Normal compared with the same month a year ago.

Bloomington-Normal's labor market dropped 300 jobs in 2024., according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The latest data show Bloomington-Normal's unemployment rate rose to 4% in November, a slight increase from 3.6% a year ago. The area also lost 500 jobs in the same timespan, according to state data.

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

Unemployment in Bloomington-Normal stands at 4.3%. That's up slightly since September of last year, but better than the statewide jobless rate of 5%.

The Town of Normal is in a strong fiscal position, but some indicators raise concerns that future budgeting will become a challenge.

According to data released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security, a bulk of the new jobs in Bloomington-Normal are in Leisure and Hospitality.

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, which includes McLean and DeWitt counties, added 900 jobs over the last year.