CHICAGO (AP) – The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced Thursday the unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 11.0 percent, while nonfarm payrolls added 66,000 jobs in August, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES.
The July monthly change in payrolls was revised upward from the preliminary report, from 93,200 to 105,000 jobs. The July unemployment rate was revised upward from the preliminary report, from 11.3 percent to 11.5 percent. The August payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflects activity for the week including the 12th.
The state’s unemployment rate was 2.6 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for August, which was 8.4 percent, down 1.8 percentage points from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was up 7.2 percentage points from a year ago when it was 3.8 percent.