SPRINGFIELD – Over 96% of job-able Americans are employed now, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday – the highest since 2000. Unemployment lowered to 3.9% when 166,000 Americans found jobs last month.
That's terrific news for the nation's workforce as a whole – but the state of Illinois' latest published figures show only two Illinois areas with similar high employment rates – 3.8% Bloomington and Champaign-Urbana metropolitan areas.
In March 2018, Danville shows the state's highest unemployment rate at 5.8% with Decatur and Kankakee coming in at 5.2% unemployment rate.
The Chicago area was stuck at 4.2% unemployment, and the state overall was at 4.4% while the nation held tight for several months at the same time at 4.1%.
The state's latest figures:
