Jobs Up In All 14 Metro Areas, Unemployment Rates Stable In December

SPRINGFIELD – Jobs increased over-the-year in all fourteen Illinois metropolitan areas in December according to preliminary data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). The unemployment rate decreased in thirteen metropolitan areas and increased in one.

“For nearly two years, Illinois has seen consistent job growth across the state throughout industry sectors,” said Deputy Governor Andy Manar. “IDES continues to help jobseekers and employers connect with one another as more people enter the labor force and look to take advantage of newly created and expanded job opportunities in the labor market.”

The metro areas which had the largest over-the-year percentage increases in total nonfarm jobs were the Lake-Kenosha IL/WI Metro (+3.8%, +15,700), the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island IA-IL MSA (+3.5%, +6,400), the Rockford MSA (+3.1%, +4,500) and the Chicago Metro Division (+2.9%, +108,800). Industries that saw job growth in a majority of metro areas included: Manufacturing and Leisure and Hospitality (thirteen areas each); Other Services (twelve areas); Mining and Construction and Education and Health Services (eleven areas each); Government (ten areas); and Wholesale Trade (nine areas).

The metro areas with the largest unemployment rate decreases were in the Rockford MSA (-1.3 points to 5.4%) and the Decatur MSA (-1.0 point to 5.1%). The Chicago Metro Division unemployment rate increased by +0.1 point to 4.3%. The unemployment rate decreased over the year in 47 counties, increased in 43, and was unchanged in 12.

Not Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates

Total Nonfarm Jobs (Not Seasonally Adjusted) – December 2022

Metro East Highlights

The December 2022 unemployment rate for the Illinois Section of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area was 3.4 percent. The unemployment rate decreased -0.3 percentage point over-the-year from the December 2021 rate of 3.7 percent. The data are not seasonally adjusted.

The labor force decreased by -221 in December 2022 to 330,865 from 331,086 in December 2021. The number of employed individuals increased by +861 to 319,533 in December 2022 from 318,672 in December 2021. There were 11,332 unemployed people in the labor force in December 2022. This is a decrease of -1,082 compared to the 12,414 unemployed in December 2021.

The number of total nonfarm jobs in December 2022 was 239,500 compared to 238,300 in December 2021, which is an increase of +1,200.

Payrolls increased in Leisure and Hospitality (+1,300), Government (+800), Mining and Construction (+200), Professional and Business Services (+200), Manufacturing (+200), Wholesale Trade (+100), and Other Services (+100).

Employment declined in Retail Trade (-500), Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (-500), Financial Activities (-300), Educational and Health Services (-300), and Information (-100).

Note: Monthly 2021 unemployment rates and total nonfarm jobs for Illinois metro areas were revised in February and March 2022, as required by the U.S. BLS. Comments and tables distributed for prior metro area news releases should be discarded as any records or historical analysis previously cited may no longer be valid.

Disclaimer: The data contained in the metro area employment numbers press releases are not seasonally adjusted, and therefore are subject to seasonal fluctuations due to factors such as changes in weather, harvests, major holidays, and school schedules. Current monthly metro data should be compared to the same month from prior years (January 2022 data compared to January 2021 data) as data for these months have similar seasonal patterns. Comparisons should not be made to data for the immediate previous month or other previous non-matching months, as any changes in the data within these time periods may be the result of seasonal fluctuations and not economic factors.

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