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Unemployment Rate Drops In All Illinois Metropolitan Areas

By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 26, 2012 1:35PM

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Photo credit: Renee Rendler-Kaplan

According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, unemployment in every metropolitan area in Illinois in September and are now at their lowest rates since before the 2008 economic collapse. This may come as a cold comfort to those of you out there who have been looking for a job for a while.

The unemployment rate in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area is now at 8 percent, and the economy in this area produced 34,600 jobs in September, with the main increases coming in the manufacturing, hospitality, and professional and business services sectors. The unemployment rate in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area last September was at 10.1 percent.

While IDES Director Jay Rowell was happy with the numbers, he stressed that the state isn’t out of the woods yet.

"Hiring managers need to see consistent, long-term tax policy and spending priorities by the federal government before we will see stronger hiring increases."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel touted the numbers in a statement to media Thursday.

“Put simply, people in Chicago are finding work, and people are coming to Chicago to find work. There are 30,000 fewer residents facing unemployment now than there were a year ago - the largest one-year drop in nearly two decades - and a 20 percent improvement. Additionally, Chicago is leading the nation in additional employed residents since last year, adding more than 43,000. Our unemployment rate in the city has decreased by 21 percent year over year. I remain steadfastly committed to keeping this momentum going and will do whatever it takes to keep turning this economy around by supporting our small businesses, recruiting new businesses to come to Chicago and making the right economic development investments in order to make sure every Chicagoan finds consistent, stable work."