Unemployment Rates Down, Jobs Up in Every Metro Area Compared to June 2020

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The number of nonfarm jobs increased over-the-year in all fourteen Illinois metropolitan areas in June according to preliminary data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). The unemployment rate decreased over-the-year in all metro areas.

“As the state continues to recover from the pandemic, today’s data highlights the economic progress made from a year ago,” said Senior Advisor Andy Manar. “With reopening activities continuing to evolve, IDES is hard at work to provide reemployment services to those individuals who lost work and are looking to rejoin the workforce.”

The number of nonfarm jobs increased in all fourteen Illinois metropolitan areas. The metro areas which had the largest over-the-year percentage increases in total nonfarm jobs were the Springfield MSA (+7.0%, +6,800), the Peoria MSA (+6.6%, +10,200), and the Lake-Kenosha IL-WI Metro (+5.8%, +22,300). Total nonfarm jobs in the Chicago Metro rose by +5.4% or +181,600. The industries that saw job growth in a majority of metro areas included: Leisure and Hospitality (fourteen areas); Government (twelve areas); Mining and Construction, Retail Trade, and Other Services (eleven areas each); Transportation, Warehousing and Public Utilities (ten areas); Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade and Educational and Health Services (nine areas each); and Professional and Business Service (eight areas).

Over-the-year, the unemployment rate decreased in all 14 metropolitan areas; the metro areas with the largest unemployment rate decreases were the Elgin Metro (-7.6 points to 6.2%), the Peoria MSA (-7.2 points to 6.4%), the Rockford MSA (-7.0 points to 9.5%) and the Illinois section of St. Louis MSA (-7.0 points to 5.7%). The Chicago Metro unemployment rate fell -6.5 points to 9.2%.