Unemployment numbers continue to go down in the local area, but in two different ways.
Numbers released Thursday from the Illinois Department of Employment Security shows that Knox County saw a 0.4% decrease in March’s unemployment when compared to March of 2018. Currently Knox has an unemployment rate of 5.2% which is 0.8 points higher than the state of Illinois’ average of 4.4%.
Knox County saw the labor force decrease by 403 individuals while the job market shrunk by 290. This shift in decreasing labor force participation was also seen in Fulton, Henderson, and McDonough counties.
The opposite was seen in Henry, Stark, and Warren Counties – which saw an increase in labor force while also seeing a decrease in the unemployment.
In March of 2017 Warren County had a 4.3% unemployment rate. The 2018 numbers for March indicate that the unemployment rate is 3.8%. Warren County also increased their labor force to 8,712 from 8,633 in the previous year.
The city of Galesburg saw a shift in unemployment from 5.6 to 5.3%. This accounted to a decrease in labor force participation from 12,603 to 12,387.
According to the IDES, the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area had a decrease in the unemployment rate from 5.6 to 5.2% while also seeing the labor force decrease from 22,612 to 22,209.
In metropolitan statistical areas Peoria saw a decrease in the unemployment rate by a full percentage point from 6.1 to 5.1%. In the Quad City area, that shift was less – going from 5.5 to 5.0%.
