Positive News:Optimistic

State jobless rate falls to 9%

 

(Crain’s) — Illinois’ unemployment rate fell for the 12th consecutive month in January, to 9%.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security says the last time the state rate dipped below 9% was February 2009. The January rate inched downward from 9.2% in December.
IDES Director Maureen O’Donnell said that while sustained falling unemployment reflects a strengthening Illinois economy, she expects a few bumps going forward.
“As Illinois continues to push through the effects of the national recession, slight up-and-down movement in monthly estimates of unemployment rates and job growth is to be expected,” she said in a statement.
There were 599,400 people unemployed in January, about 14,000 fewer than in December. The Illinois economy gained jobs in professional and business services, educational and health services, manufacturing, and transportation and utilities.
All told, the number of people counted as unemployed has dropped by 140,700 since January 2010, when the state unemployment rate peaked at 11.2%

Read more: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110303/NEWS07/110309943/state-jobless-rate-falls-to-9#ixzz1FZkSjlPd