By Joe Ragusa
BLOOMINGTON – The unemployment rate is up in Bloomington-Normal.
The Twin Cities recorded an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent in December 2015, up from 4.8 percent in December 2014.
Illinois Department of Employment Security analyst Ron Payne said the number of people looking for work also grew by 2,000. He said that’s a good thing because it means more people are confident in the economy.
The number of unemployed workers grew by 700.
The sector that was hit the hardest in the Twin Cities was government, followed by construction. Professional and business services, and retail trade grew the most over the last year.
Payne said the number of manufacturing jobs in Bloomington-Normal stayed the same, but that doesn’t account for the closure of the Mitsubishi Plant. Payne said that will likely be reflected in next month’s report.
The statewide unemployment rate last month was 5.9 percent and Bloomington-Normal is one of 11 metro areas where unemployment grew over the last year. It’s also one of seven areas where the number of jobs grew in that time frame.
Joe Ragusa can be reached at joe.ragusa@cumulus.com.
