Knox County’s unemployment rate continued to plummet in May as employers scramble to fill positions.
Knox’s rate was 5.8 percent, after being 8.8 percent just in January.
That is as low as Knox’s rate has been since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out last spring. We’ve heard from CEOs and small business owners that they are struggling to fill positions.
A preliminary estimate of 167 people entered the county’s labor force over the month after 171 joined in April.
The amount of people in the labor force is about level with last April when the pandemic first started wreaking havoc on the labor market. But that’s also with 1,300 more of that group working.
Putting it into context though there are 13 percent fewer employed people than 5 years ago.
Warren County as always has a low rate, coming in with 3.8 percent in April. Only 300 people are seeking work but are without it in Warren.
The trend of the higher populated counties experiencing higher unemployment continues with Cook County leading the way.
The three counties with the lowest unemployment are Brown, Washington, and Monroe which combined have about the same number of people as Knox County.
Knox County’s unemployment rate in theory is pretty historically normal. The average monthly rate for the last 5 years is 6 percent, while Knox’s rate in May was 5.8
The City of Galesburg is just slightly higher with a rate of 6.4 percent.
The West Central Region to which Knox and Warren counties belong has the lowest unemployment among Illinois’ Economic Development Regions.