CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois in August added a fifth consecutive month of across-the-board unemployment declines in its 12 metro areas.
The state Department of Employment Security said Thursday in its monthly report on metro unemployment that the jobless rate in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area fell to 6.2 percent. A year earlier it was 9.1 percent.
Steep drops were also seen in the Rockford area where unemployment fell from 11.4 percent a year earlier to 9.4 percent. Danville’s jobless rate dropped from 12.2 percent in August 2013 to 9.7 percent last month.
Department Director Jay Rowell said the trend will be interesting to watch as employers add seasonal workers in the next few months.
The department said earlier this month that statewide unemployment stood at 6.7 percent in August.
