Bloomington-Normal adds nearly 2,000 jobs

Posted on August 25, 2017
Job application
Bloomington-Normal’s jobless rate dropped to 4.5 percent in July. (Photo courtesy Facebook/Illinois Department of Employment Security)

By WJBC Staff

SPRINGFIELD – The unemployment rate dropped in all 14 Illinois metro areas for the second month in a row.

Bloomignton-Normal’s unemployment rate dropped nearly a full point to 4.5 percent in July as the area added 1,900 jobs. State Department of Employment Security spokesman Bob Gough said job growth was seen in nine metro areas.

“The rate of job growth has lessened in most of those areas that showed gains,” Gough said. “While the gains in Chicago area over the past year are promising, the drop in the unemployment rate is due mostly to the decline in the labor force.”

Areas that experienced over the year job losses include the Quad Cities, Decatur, Danville and Elgin.

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…