Illinois jobless rate falls to 8.7%; largest monthly job gain this year
BY SANDRA GUY Business Reporter sguy@suntimes.com December 20, 2012 12:04PM
Updated: January 22, 2013 6:26AM
Illinois added 16,400 jobs in November — the biggest monthly gain this year — to bring the unemployment rate to 8.7 percent, down from 9.8 percent a year ago and down from 8.8 percent in October, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday.
The total number of unemployed fell 1.1 percent, to 574,000, the 12th monthly decline in 15 months, the report said.
The number of Illinoisans who are unemployed has dropped 23.7 percent since January 2010, when the unemployment rate peaked at 11.4 percent, the report said.
The biggest job gains in November occurred in two sectors that have accounted for the strongest employment growth this year: manufacturing and professional and business services, according to IDES. Growth also came in the trade, transportation and utilities category.
The number of jobs in manufacturing increased to 598,700 in November, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier. Professional and business services grew 3 percent, to 864,600, and trade, transportation and utilities edged up 0.3 percent, to 1.145 million.
