Illinois Jobless Rate Falls For 7th Month In A Row
Illinois Unemployment Rate Falls
CHICAGO (AP) -- Illinois' unemployment rate fell to 9.8 percent in October as the state added another 8,000 jobs.
The jobless figure is just slightly below September's rate of 9.9 percent but marks seven consecutive months of improvement.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security released the figures Thursday.
IDES Director Maureen O'Donnell says the trend "shows Illinois is moving forward."
There still were 648,900 people without jobs in Illinois last month, the lowest level since April 2009.
Unemployment peaked at 11.5 percent in March of this year, when almost 765,000 workers were unemployed.
The national unemployment rate for October is unchanged at 9.6 percent.
(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
