New numbers from the Illinois Department of Employment Security show the jobless rates in the Danville and Champaign-Urbana areas improved last month. All of the state’s metropolitan areas experienced a drop in unemployment compared to figures from one year ago.
In Vermilion County the jobless rate in December 2016 was 7.2 percent, compared with 7.7 percent a year ago. In the Champaign-Urbana-Rantoul area the jobless rate fell from 5.7 percent in December of 2015 to 4.9 percent last month.
The non-seasonally adjusted numbers showed that in Vermilion County there were an estimated 2,600 unemployed in the labor force last month.
Non-farm employment in Vermilion County decreased by 300 from its level one year ago. The county recorded job increases of 100 each in the Wholesale and Retail Trade areas compared to December 2015 figures. But Vermilion County also saw a loss of 200 Government jobs, 100 Manufacturing jobs, and a loss of 100 jobs in each of the categories of Construction, Professional-Business Services and Education Health Services.
Across East-Central Illinois employers advertised for 4,100 positions in December, and approximately 82-percent were seeking full-time employees according to Help Wanted OnLine data compiled by the Conference Board.
