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Unemployment Numbers in April Down, But Higher Than Year Ago
The change in seasons and weather conditions is leading to what is a sharp drop in unemployment across the area, even though state officials say the numbers are much higher than a year ago.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security released county-by-county figures Friday, which indicate that the overall Galesburg-area unemployment rate for April was 7.8%. That's lower than March but is still almost two-full percentage points higher than this time last year.

In Galesburg proper, the jobless rate is at 8.6%; that's a 0.6% drop over March, but two and a half points higher than a year ago.

The IDES says in the year-to-year period, there were drops in non-farm payroll jobs and construction jobs of two-hundred each, with the government sector adding one-hundred jobs.

Knox County's overall unemployment rate is at 8.5% for April, down from 9.2% the month prior. Warren County's is at 5.7%, down one-percent from March.

The highest jobless rate in the immediate area remains Fulton County, where the 10% unemployment rate is only 0.2% of a percent lower than the month before.

One of the biggest drops was in Henderson County, now sitting at 8.3% for April, and was well over 10% in March.

The state unemployment average in April was 9.3%, virtually unchanged from March.
05 30 09 by Newsroom
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