©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Area Unemployment Rates Climb in July |
The city of Galesburg and Fulton County are both staring at double digit unemployment rates.
The rates for July have been released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. They show unemployment in Fulton County grew to 12.5 percent from June's 10.9 percent rate. The increase is nearly 5 percent compared to July of last year.
Galesburg unemployment is 10 percent, up from 9.2 percent the previous month and well above the 7.5 percent rate in July of 2008. Knox County's rate is close at 9.9 percent. The state says 238 more people are unemployed in the county compared to June, when the jobless rate was 9 percent. The rate in Henderson County climbed to 8.9 percent from 8.2 and Henry County's rate went from 8.2 percent in June to 8.8 last month.
The lowest unemployment rate in the Galesburg area is in Warren County, where it's 7.2 percent. That represents an increase of just 2-tenths of a percent from the previous month. The rate a year ago was 6.7 percent. The rate for the Galesburg area as a whole is 9.2 percent, or an increase of 2.4 percent in the past year. The most job losses that occurred during that time were in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
Higher unemployment rates occurred all over Illinois. State officials say all 12 metropolitan areas experienced unemployment rates that were higher than previous-year levels for the 26th straight month. The Rockford metro had the highest rate at 15.1 percent. The state's unemployment rate is 10.4 percent.
IDES Director Maureen O'Donnell says the higher rates reflect ongoing challenges in the state and national economy. She says the country felt the pain of the recession many months before it was felt in Illinois, and it's likely the same pattern will hold true as the economy recovers. |
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| 08 27 09 by Newsroom |
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