The unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.2% in Illinois for the month of August.
That's one of the country's highest jobless rates. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says the state added 5,600 jobs in the educational and health services sector in August. But Illinois lost a net 4,100 construction jobs.
Employment Security Director Jay Rowell says that even without a drop in the unemployment rate the state still added a net 5,900 private-sector jobs for the month. Government employers actually cut a net 1,100 jobs in August. The federal government said earlier this month that the national unemployment rate for August was 7.3 percent.