March unemployment rate drops to 6.8 percent in Rockford Region

ROCKFORD, April 23 — The Rockford metro area’s unemployment rate for March 2015 was 6.8 percent, down 2.9 percentage points from the same time a year ago.

Also, March was the thirteenth month in a row that unemployment rates fell in every metro area in the state compared to a year ago, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).

Mike Nicholas, president of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council, was quoted in a Rockford Register Star story about the monthly report. “I think it’s a continuation of the progress we’ve been making over the past several years,” he said.