The unemployment rate was down in all of Illinois’ 14 metro areas last month.
Illinois Department of Employment Security spokesperson Rebecca Cisco says significant improvements were seen comparing October of this year to October of 2018...with the Chicago and East St. Louis areas both hitting record lows.
The unemployment rate in the Carbondale-Marion metro area dropped from 4.3% in 2018 to 3.5% this October.
In southern Illinois, the biggest declines of 2.3% occurred in Johnson and Hardin Counties.
The Carbondale-Marion area saw non-farm jobs increase by 1,500 compared to October 2018.
The largest employment gains in surrounding counties were in government as well as in educational and health services.
