Unemployment Rates Continue Downward Trend in All Metro Areas
Modest Job Growth Still Uneven Across State
Not Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates
CHICAGO, IL – July was the seventeenth month in a row that unemployment rates fell in every metro area in the state compared to a year ago, according to preliminary data released today by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Rates also fell in all of Illinois’s 102 counties for the fifteenth time in the last sixteen months. Not seasonally adjusted data compares July 2015 with July 2014.
Illinois businesses added jobs in eight metros. The largest increases were seen in: Danville (+2.1 percent, +600), Champaign-Urbana (+2.0 percent, +2,000), and Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metro Division (+1.6 percent or +56,200). Decreases were seen in: Quad Cities (-1.9 percent, -3,600), Peoria (-1.1 percent, -1,900), and Carbondale-Marion (-0.9 percent, -500). The industry sectors recording job growth in the majority of metros were: Transportation, Warehousing and Public Utilities (11 of 14), Professional and Business Services (nine of 14), Wholesale Trade (eight of 14), Retail Trade (eight of 14) Education and Health Services (eight of 14), and Leisure and Hospitality (eight of 14).
“The year-over-year statewide unemployment rate has declined from 7.3 percent to 5.9 percent and continues to fall in all metro areas,†IDES Director Jeff Mays said. “However, we are still concerned that the long-term unemployed are still having difficulty finding jobs while there were 205,700 on-line job postings by Illinois employers in July.â€
The not seasonally adjusted Illinois rate was 5.9 percent in July 2015 and stood at 12.2 percent at its peak in this economic cycle in January 2010. Nationally, the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.6 percent in July 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.
Not Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates
| Metropolitan Area | July 2015 | July 2014 |
Over-the-Year Change |
| Bloomington | 4.7% | 6.0% |
-1.3 |
| Carbondale-Marion | 6.0% | 7.3% | -1.3 |
| Champaign-Urbana | 5.0% | 6.6% | -1.6 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights | 6.1% | 7.4% |
-1.3 |
| Danville | 6.7% | 8.8% |
-2.1 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 5.1% | 6.3% |
-1.2 |
| Decatur | 7.2% | 8.8% |
-1.6 |
| Elgin | 5.2% | 6.8% |
-1.6 |
| Kankakee | 6.2% | 8.0% |
-1.8 |
| Lake-Kenosha, IL-WI | 4.9% | 6.3% |
-1.4 |
| Peoria | 6.2% | 7.3% |
-1.1 |
| Rockford | 7.1% | 8.4% |
-1.3 |
| Springfield | 4.9% | 6.1% |
-1.2 |
| St. Louis (IL-Section) | 5.8% | 7.5% |
-1.7 |
| Illinois Statewide | 5.9% | 7.3% |
-1.4 |
| * Data subject to revision. |
|
Total Nonfarm Jobs (Not Seasonally Adjusted) – July 2015
|
Metropolitan Area |
July 2015* |
July 2014** |
Over-the-Year Change |
| Bloomington MSA | 93,100 | 92,600 | 500 |
| Carbondale-Marion MSA | 52,600 | 53,100 | -500 |
|
Champaign-Urbana MSA |
104,500 | 102,500 | 2,000 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metro Div. | 3,655,500 | 3,599,300 | 56,200 |
|
Danville MSA |
29,600 |
29,000 | 600 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island IA-IL MSA | 182,300 |
185,900 |
-3,600 |
| Decatur MSA | 50,600 | 51,000 | -400 |
|
Elgin Metro Division |
255,300 | 252,300 | 3,000 |
|
Kankakee MSA |
44,400 | 44,100 | 300 |
|
Lake County-Kenosha County IL-WI Metro Div. |
