B-N jobless rate drops

Posted on June 22, 2017
job application
Bloomington-Normal’s jobless rate improved over the last year. (Photo courtesy Facebook/Illinois Department of Employment Security)

By Greg Halbleib

SPRINGFIELD – The unemployment rate for May in Bloomington-Normal is the lowest among the state’s metropolitan areas.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported the jobless rate in Bloomington-Normal last month was 3.8 percent, tied with Springfield as the state’s lowest. The local unemployment rate in May 2016 was 4.6 percent.

The agency reported Bloomington-Normal gained about 900 jobs over the past year for a total of 94,600.

The Illinois unemployment rate for May was 4.3 percent, down from 5.3 percent last May.

IDES Director Jeff Mays said while pockets of job growth were noted downstate, the rate of job growth remains behind the rest of the nation with no sustainable trends noted.

Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].

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