Knox County unemployment remained stable from May to June according to preliminary numbers released Thursday.
The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.4 percent based on preliminary numbers from the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
The labor force, or the number of individuals employed or looking for work, increased slightly to a little more than 22,000.
But a continuing trend this year has been loss of workforce compared to 2018.
There are about 600 fewer people working or seeking work in Knox County compared with last June, a trend that started when the local job market took a hit over the winter.
Leisure and hospitality not only gained jobs in June, as you would expect as the first month of summer, but there are also 3.7 percent more jobs in the sector than last June.
Knox County fell closer in line with the state average unemployment which is 4.0 percent.
Warren County’s unemployment rate has remained stable over the last few years and June was no exception, although there was a small loss of about 100 from the labor force.
Henry County also saw no drastic changes with the labor force slightly growing and the unemployment rate not moving at all.
Illinois has a whole saw a higher unemployment rate in June, but that’s coupled with a rash of people seeking jobs in the summer months.
