Now for some good news, unemployment rates are down in all fourteen Illinois metropolitan areas according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment security. Industries that saw job growth in a majority of metro areas included: Leisure and Hospitality, Manufacturing, Retail Trade and Government, Professional and Business services, Transportation, Warehousing, Public Utilities, Education, and Health Services.
White County saw a 1% decrease in unemployment, going from 5.4% in April 2021 to 4.4% in April 2022. Saline County dropped half a percent going from 6.5% to 6.0%. Hamilton County’s rate went down 0.9% going from 4.5% to 3.6%. Gallatin County saw a 0.6% drop going from 6.2% to 5.6%. Edwards County’s unemployment rate also went down 0.6%, going from 5.0% to 4.4%. Wabash County went from 4.6% to 4.0%, and Wayne County saw a 0.8% drop in their unemployment rate going from 4.8% in 2021 to 4.0% in 2022.
