Jobless numbers headed into the holiday hiring season are the lowest in central Illinois. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says that Springfield holds the lowest area unemployment rate at 4.5 percent. Chicago area Lake County is second in the state at 4.6 percent. The worst place to be out of work is in Danville, where local unemployment is 6.6 percent. Overall the state rate is 5.5 percent. 

October 2016-2015 rates by area were:
Bloomington-Normal: 4.8; 5.0.
Carbondale-Marion: 5.4; 6.
Champaign-Urbana: 4.8; 5.3.
Chicago: 5.7; 5.3.
Danville: 6.6; 7.2.
Quad-Cities: 5.4; 5.7.
Decatur: 6.2; 7.0.
Elgin: 4.9; 5.6.
Kankakee: 5.8; 6.7.
Lake County: 4.6; 5.2.
Peoria: 5.9; 6.9.
Rockford: 6; 7.1.
Springfield: 4.5; 5.3.
Metro East St. Louis: 5.1; 6.1.