About one in 16 people in this area who wanted work in August didn’t have it. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says the combined unemployment rate for LaSalle, Bureau, and Putnam counties was 5.5% in July and 6.0% in August. The rates had gone down from June to July. The August 2021 rates were still better than the August 2020 rates. The three-county rate last August was 8.4%.
Local unemployment goes up again after summer drop
