Last week the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) released the job growth rates for the Rockford MSA, which shows the Rockford metropolitan statistical area leading in job growth figures for the second month in a row.
The Rockford metropolitan area now leads the state in job growth according to the latest unemployment report issued by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The same report shows that 8 of 15 regions across the state suffered job losses, a sign, as IDES Director Jeff Mays put it that “The state is still experiencing not nearly enough growth.”
Illinois businesses added jobs in eight metro areas, in which the largest increases were seen in:
- Rockford (+2.2 percent, +3,400)
- Lake-Kenosha (+1.5 percent, +6,300)
- Elgin (+1.3 percent, +3,400)
- Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metro Division increased (+1.3 percent or +46,800)
The unemployment rate dropped from 6.7% in September of 2015 to 6.6% in September of 2016. This is a trend the Rockford Region would like to see continue into 2017.
