Unemployment rates decreased over-the-year in August in all of Illinois’s metropolitan areas and all but one county, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). Data also show nonfarm jobs increased in twelve of the metropolitan areas and decreased in two.
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Vermilion Countydeclined to 6.9 percent in August 2017 from 7.4 percent in August 2016. In August 2017, there were an estimated 2,300 unemployed in the labor force.
Non-farm employment decreased from its year-ago level by -500. Job gains were not reported in any of the major industry sectors. Government (-200), Construction (-100), Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (-100), and Financial Activities (-100) recorded an employment loss since August 2016.
The City of Danville also saw a dip in the unemployment rate, from 8.6% in August of 2016 to 8.3% in Auguat of 2017.
The not seasonally adjusted Illinois rate was 5.2 percent in August 2017 and stood at 12.2 percent at its peak in this economic cycle in January 2010. Nationally, the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in August 2017 and 10.6 percent in January 2010 at its peak. The unemployment rate identifies those who are out of work and looking for work, and is not tied to collecting unemployment insurance benefits.
