Revised December unemployment number shows dip below 7 percent for Rockford area

ROCKFORD, March 17 — The Rockford metro area’s unemployment rate for December 2014 has been adjusted down to 6.9 percent, closing the year below 7 percent. Previously, it was reported at 7.8 percent.

The last time the unemployment rate was at 6.9 percent was almost seven years ago, April 2008.
The last time the rate was lower than 6.9 percent was November 2007 at 6 percent.
And the last time the December rate was equal to or lower than 6.9 percent was 2006, when it was 5 percent.

Additionally, January 2015 unemployment was reported at 7.8 percent, down from 11 percent a year earlier.

January was the 11th month in a row that unemployment rates fell in every metro area in Illinois, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).

Rates also fell in all 102 counties for the sixth consecutive month and the seventh time out of the last eight months. Not seasonally adjusted data compares January 2015 with January 2014.