Unemployment has more than tripled in this area since the pandemic shutdowns began.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security says 4.6% of LaSalle County residents who wanted work didn’t have it in March. The rate climbed to 18.4% in April. That’s quadruple what it was.
In Bureau County, the unemployment rate jumped from 4.1% to 13.7%.
In Putnam County, it went from 4.6% to 16.7%.
The three counties combined saw the rate go from 4.5% to 17.3%. That’s a loss of 5,000 jobs in all three counties.