State Unemployment Rate Jumps Again

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 25, 2009 3:40PM

Even as President Obama was giving a speech last night in which he hinted the economy is beginning to show signs of life, another sign of economic struggle was seen as the state's unemployment rate jumped again. For February 2009, the state's unemployment rate came in at 8.6 percent, the highest the state has seen since December 2001. The Illinois Department of Employment Security said Tuesday that the 0.8 percent increase from January to February is the largest single-month jump in the agency's 33 year history. Overall, employers cut 37,200 workers in February, bringing the 12-month total to 206,300. Illinois' rate remains well ahead of the national average, which stands at 8.1 percent. [Tribune]