SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois’s September unemployment rate hit a record low.
The rate came in at 3.9%, which was still .4% higher than the national average, but down .1% from the state’s August unemployment rate and down .3% from Illinois’s September 2018 rate.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security released industry-by-industry numbers to show job gains and losses.
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities saw the biggest jump from August to September, with 3,700 new jobs added. Manufacturing saw the biggest loss, with a decrease of 1,000 jobs.
IDES Spokesperson Sam Salustro said the state’s job growth over the past year is a good barometer of how the country is performing.
“We’ve had strong job growth for a while now,” he said.
“If you look at our numbers compared to last year, we’ve actually grown jobs by 66,000 jobs, which is a pace compared to the national average.”
The total number of unemployed workers in September was 255,000, also a record low.
