CHICAGO: Job growth downstate continues to lag, but unemployment rates for July in Champaign-Urbana last month and in Champaign County as a whole were showing slight declines from a year ago, according to the state’s Department of Employment Security. The jobless rate in Champaign County for July was 5.1 percent, compared to 5.6 percent in July 2015.
Urbana’s July unemployment rate edged closer to Champaign’s in the 12-month period. Champaign’s rate fell from 5.6 percent a year ago to 5.2 percent last month, and Urbana’s dropped from 6.2 percent to 5.8 percent. Other East Central Illinois counties were showing similar declines, with the highest area unemployment rate in the area for Danville.
The jobless rate in Danville rose a bit from 8.5 percent to 8.6 percent, even while Vermilion County’s declined from 7.4 percent to 7.1 percent. Despite the drops in rates in the Champaign-Urbana area, the state estimated about 6,000 people in that labor force remained without jobs in July.
