Bloomington-Normal jobless rate among state’s lowest

Employment Application
Bloomington-Normal’s jobless rate was 4.4 percent in June. (Photo courtesy Flickr/Flazingo Photos)

By Greg Halbleib

SPRINGFIELD – The unemployment rate in Bloomington-Normal remains one of the lowest in the state.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security reports the Twin Cities jobless rate for June was 4.4 percent. The rate for June 2016 was 5.3 percent.

The northern Chicago suburbs and Springfield recorded the only lower rates, both 4.3 percent. The overall rate for Illinois was 5 percent.

IDES also reports the Bloomington-Normal region gained about 3,100 during the past year.

Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…