Jobless numbers drop from August, but still above last year
CHAMPAIGN — Many counties in East Central Illinois saw sizable declines in the unemployment rate in September, when compared with August.
Champaign County's rate dropped only slightly, from 9 percent to 8.7 percent, while Vermilion County's rate edged down from 10.5 percent to 10.4 percent, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Iroquois County was the only area county with an increase. Its rate edged up from 8.3 percent to 8.5 percent.
Moultrie County had the biggest month-to-month drop, from 8.8 percent in August to 7.3 percent in September.
Piatt and Douglas both saw drops of a full percentage point, and Coles saw a decrease of almost as much.
Here are the September rates for some area counties and their change from August:
— Coles, 8.8, down from 9.7.
— DeWitt, 8.1, down from 8.3.
— Douglas, 8.2, down from 9.2.
— Edgar, 9.6, down from 10.1.
— Ford, 7.8, down from 8.4.
— McLean, 7.3, down from 7.4.
— Piatt, 7.5, down from 8.5.
Among area cities, Champaign saw a decline from 9.2 percent to 8.9 percent; Urbana experienced a drop from 9.9 percent to 9.5 percent; and Danville saw its rate fall from 12.1 percent to 11.8 percent.
In Champaign County, an estimated 9,029 people were out of work and looking for a job in September. Meanwhile, 95,306 residents had jobs.
In Vermilion County, about 3,751 people were out of work and seeking a job, while 32,360 people were employed.
Five area counties — Champaign, Coles, DeWitt, McLean and Piatt — had higher rates in September than a year earlier.
Six other counties — Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Moultrie and Vermilion — had lower rates in September than a year earlier.
The Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area — made up of Champaign, Ford and Piatt counties — had a September unemployment rate of 8.5 percent, up from 8.3 percent in September 2010.
Of the state's 12 metropolitan areas, Champaign-Urbana had the fifth-lowest unemployment rate, behind the Quad Cities, Bloomington-Normal, Springfield and Peoria.
The Danville metropolitan area had the third-highest rate, 10.4 percent, behind Rockford and Kankakee-Bradley.
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