Another reason to get an education:
As if you needed one
Illinois jobless rate falls again, to 9.1%: The Illinois unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points in February to 9.1 percent, with employers adding 6,500 jobs. The drop from January’s rate marks the sixth consecutive month of decline, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Yay, jobs!
Illinois unemployment rate dips to 9.4%: Unemployment in Illinois fell 0.3 percentage points to 9.4 percent in January, as the state added 3,800 jobs, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Other notable numbers from the report:
- Illinois’ 9.4 percent January rate matches the state’s average for all of 2011.
- Illinois’ jobless rate remains more than a full point above the national average, which dropped to 8.3 percent in January.
- The number of residents unemployed in Illinois in January declined for the fifth consecutive month, by 18,100 people to 620,300.
Credit: Illinois Department of Employment Security
Then vs. now: A look at what the country was like the last time the Dow topped 13,000 — On May 19, 2008, American Idol was still the No. 1 show on television, gas prices were actually higher than they are today and Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton were still battling over the Democratic nomination for president.
What were you doing the last time the Dow closed above 13,000?
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC — A look at Illinois’ high rate of long-term unemployment: In 2000, the number of Illinois workers unemployed for more than six months was around 36,000. A decade later, that number skyrocketed to 254,000. Our latest interactive graphic looks at the average duration of unemployment in five Midwestern states.
Have you been unemployed for longer than six months since the recession hit?
