How The Rockford Area Compares In Unemployment

Taking a look at June’s unemployment numbers for Illinois’ various counties and cities can give us an idea of where we stack up compared to the rest of the state. The quick headline is that it's still bad, but could be worse.

For example, among metro areas around the state, Reboot Illinois reports that the employment rate for Rockford (Winnebago and Boone Counties combined) stands at 8.9%. That's much better than where we were a year ago, at 11.4%. However, it still is the third-highest in the state, behind Danville and Decatur. The numbers also say that we have only 100 more total non-farm jobs than in 2013. That suggests the unemployment rate is lower not because of employment growth but largely because of people dropping out of the workforce.

Here's the list of Illinois cities with the highest unemployment rate, where Rockford checks in at #9:

1. East St. Louis - 13.0  percent
2. Harvey - 12.8 percent
3. Dolton - 11.3  percent
4. Kankakee - 11.0  percent
5. Decatur - 10.5  percent
6. Danville - 10.5 percent
7. Calumet - 10.4  percent
8. Maywood - 10.2  percent
9. Rockford - 10.2  percent
10. South Holland - 10.2 percent
11. Zion – 10.2 percent