Unemployment rates have seen decreases in all 14 metropolitan areas in Illinois in January according to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs were up in all metro areas except one. Deputy Governor, Andy Manar says that metro areas throughout the state are seeing consistent job growth across industry sectors.
Decatur was one of the cities with the furthest decrease in unemployment as rates fell from 7% last year to 5.4% this year. Springfield went from 5.2% last year to 4.3% this year. Bloomington and Champaign were very similar as Bloomington went from 4.3% to 3.7% and Champaign went from 4.4%-3.8%.
In Decatur, there were 2,413 unemployed people in the labor force in January of 2023. The number of total nonfarm jobs in the Decatur Metro area increased by +800 compared to a year ago. Employment also increased in construction and mining, transportation, warehousing and utilities, government, leisure and hospitality, and other services.
Payrolls were unchanged in educational and health services, professional and business services, information, manufacturing, wholesale trade, and financial activities. January payrolls did decline in retail trade.
Christian County saw a 0.8% decrease, Montgomery saw a 0.4% decrease, Shelby saw a 0.6% decrease, and Sangamon saw a 1.1% decrease in unemployment numbers over the last year.
