More jobs. Unemployment rate is down in most places. Economy keeps growing.
Those are the highlights of the December jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).
Preliminary data from the December jobs report, which was released last week, shows a familiar trend of job growth in most areas of the state.
“For nearly two years, Illinois has seen consistent job growth across the state throughout industry sectors,” Deputy Gov. Andy Manar said in a news release. “IDES continues to help jobseekers and employers connect with one another as more people enter the labor force and look to take advantage of newly created and expanded job opportunities in the labor market.”
The Davenport-Moline-Rock Island region had one of the largest job growth percentages in the state with a 3.5% increase, totaling 6,400 more jobs from December 2021 to this past December. (Only the Lake-Kenosha region in Illinois had a larger job growth percentage increase at 3.8%.)
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the QC region fell to 3.7% in December compared to 4.1% a year earlier.
Industries that saw job growth in a majority of Illinois’ metro areas included: Manufacturing and Leisure and Hospitality (13 areas each); Other Services (12 areas); Mining and Construction and Education and Health Services (11 areas each); Government (10 areas); and Wholesale Trade (nine areas), according to the report.
The metro areas with the largest unemployment rate decreases were in the Rockford MSA (-1.3 points to 5.4%) and the Decatur MSA (-1 point to 5.1%). The Chicago Metro Division unemployment rate increased +0.1 point to 4.3%. The unemployment rate decreased over-the-year in 47 counties, increased in 43, and was unchanged in 12.
Here are some of the report highlights on the December unemployment rates and job numbers:
- Quad Cities region: The unemployment rate was at 3.7%. That is a drop of 0.4% from December 2021 when the rate was at 4.1%. The total nonfarm jobs in the QC was listed at 188,500 in December – an increase of 6,400 jobs from December 2021 when they were at 182,100.
- Rock Island County: The unemployment rate was 3.9%, a drop of 0.2% from December 2021 when it was at 4.1%
- Moline: The monthly unemployment rate was 3.8%, a drop of 0.4% from December 2021 when it was at 4.2%.
- Rock Island: The rate was 4%, a drop of 0.1% from December 2021 when it was 4.1%.
- Henry County: The rate was 3.7%, unchanged from December of 2021.
- Mercer County: The rate was 3.9%, an increase of 0.1% from December of 2021 when it was at 3.8%.
- Whiteside County: The rate was 3.7%, an increase of 0.1% from December of 2021 when the rate was 3.6%.
- State of Illinois: The rate was 4.2%, unchanged from a year ago. The total nonfarm jobs were 6,141,300 in December, an increase of 160,200 jobs from a year ago when there were 5,981,100 total nonfarm jobs.
