SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced that nonfarm jobs increased to a record high of 1,900.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at an historically low at 3.9 percent in October, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES.
The September monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report from +4,800 to +8,500 jobs.
The state’s unemployment rate is +0.3 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for October 2019, which was 3.6 percent and up +0.1 percentage point from the previous month.
The Illinois unemployment rate was down -0.3 percentage points from a year ago when it was 4.2 percent.
The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment.