Unemployment rates decreasing in all 14 Illinois metropolitan areas

SPRINGFIELD, ILL (WICS/WRSP) — Unemployment rates are decreasing in all 14 Illinois metropolitan areas according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

These new numbers were released just a few days ago.

They show that in multiple areas of Central Illinois, unemployment rates are improving from 2022 to 2023.

These new numbers show the changes between Jan. 2022 and 2023.

In Springfield, the rate in 2022 was 5.2%. That decreased by nearly 1% to 4.3% in 2023.

In Decatur, rates also decreased. They went from a 7% unemployment rate in Jan. 2022 to a 5.4 % rate in Jan. 2023.

In Champaign-Urbana, they also saw a decrease of about half a percent. The rate went from 4.4% in Jan. 2022 to 3.8% in Jan. 2023.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the IDES report that overall, the number of nonfarm jobs in Jan. 2023 is up as well.

The report says Springfield and Peoria had some of the largest percent increases in total jobs.

The state overall also saw a decrease in unemployment rates.

In Jan. 2022, the state saw a 5.4% rate. That went down to 4.7% in Jan. 2023.

Nationally, the unemployment rate decreased from four percent in Jan. 2022 to 3.4% in 2023.