Illinois Unemployment Rate Holds Steady at 6 Percent

Jim Anderson -- Illinois Radio Network

Illinois’ unemployment rate is holding steady at 6 percent.

The 6 percent rate is a half point above the national rate, but it’s down from 7.1 percent a year ago. It’s OK, says Evelina Loescher, labor market information director for the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

“We typically call it alright. A lot of economists in the Federal Reserve call it the rate at which wages might start accelerating, if you get much below 5 percent,” she said.

The state did add jobs, 9,200, up from 5,400 the previous month, but the department says the job growth – an average of 5,300 jobs per month since the recovery began – is slow, projecting it’ll take another year for employment to reach the pre-recession level.

Illinois has 5.9 million working, 392,000 unemployed.