Knox County’s unemployment rate spiked back up to 5 percent in June, almost a percentage point increase over the previous month. This comes after four straight months below 5 percent and after it was all the way at four percent last month. Knox County Area Partnership for Economic Development President Ken Springer alerted the Knox County Board on Wednesday to the ongoing issue of the county’s shrinking labor force. The increase in unemployment might be partially caused by an increase in the labor force with 102 individuals added this past month, but that is coupled with about 100 less that are employed in that same labor force. Galesburg on its own had an increase of a full percentage point last month in unemployment demonstrating a more acute version of what the county’s experiencing, more people looking for jobs but less people employed.
