LaSalle County’s unemployment rate climbed from 4.3% to 5.0% from July to August. The state’s monthly figures out Thursday show an increase from 4.1% to 4.3% in Bureau County but a drop from 4.9% to 4.7% in Putnam County. The three counties together went up from 4.7% to 4.8%. Grundy County has held steady at 4.3% for three months in a row.
Over the previous year, the best job opportunities in the region are in government. There have been drops in employee numbers in the trade-transportation-utilities sector, in professional business services, and educational and health services. Overall, the three-county unemployment rate dropped over the year from 5.4% in August 2021 to 4.8% this year. Fewer jobs and lower unemployment mean people are leaving the workforce faster than employers are eliminating positions.