Job seekers wait in line (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
CHICAGO (AP) – The latest news on Illinois’ unemployment rate is neither really bad nor really good.
The seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the Illinois Department of Employment Security shows the jobless rate for October is unchanged from the month before at 8.8 percent.
Employment Security Director Jay Rowell notes the unemployment figure for October 2011 stood at 10 percent. He argues the comparison to a year ago shows what he calls “steady economic progress.”
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The IDES reports that Illinois added 4,800 jobs in October. It says job gains were driven by the leisure and hospitality, and education and health services sectors.
Illinois 8.8 percent rate for October compares to a U.S. unemployment rate for the same month of 7.9 percent.
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