Chicago area unemployment at 9.8% in May

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Updated: June 24, 2011 2:14AM

The unemployment rate in the Chicago metropolitan area fell to 9.8 percent in May from 10.4 percent a year earllier, but jumped from 8.7 percent in April — an increase that isn’t worrisome, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

The state’s monthly report which is not seasonally adjusted, showed year-over-year, unemployment rates dropped in every metropolitan area for the ninth straight month.

The Chicago area added 19,100 jobs in May from a year earlier.

Regarding the jump in the unemployment rate from April, “That is not a cause for concern,” said IDES spokesman Greg Rivara. “The year-over-year change is what is going to be best illustrative of the economy. In the month-to-month not seasonally-adjusted data, you will have wild fluctuations based on the differences that exist at that time that affect hiring.”

He noted the May data, for example, was affected in part by colleges and universities ending their semesters.

The highest unemployment rates in the state last month were in the Rockford metropolitan area at 10.7 percent, down from 14.2 percent in May 2010; and the

Kankakee-Bradley area at 9.9 percent, down from 12.1 percent.

The lowest jobless rate was in the Bloomington-Normal area at 5.9 percent, down from 7 percent.

Behind the Chicago area, the biggest job gains were in the Peoria area, which added 5,300 jobs; the Lake County-Kenosha area, which added 2,800 and the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island area, which added 2,600.

Job losses were reported in four metropolitan areas, including the Champaign-Urbana area, which lost 3,200; and the Illinois section of the St. Louis metropolitan area, which lost 2,100.