Jobless rates improve across the Illinois Valley

If you were looking for a job in the Illinois Valley last month you likely had more success than job hunters across the state.

LaSalle, Bureau, and Putnam Counties all saw their unemployment rates in March drop more than the rate for Illinois. Bureau County’s unemployment rate fell by 0.6% to 7.5%. LaSalle County still has the highest unemployment in the Valley at 8.3%, and Putnam’s 7.4% rate is the lowest.

While the numbers are headed in the right direction, all three counties still rank in the highest half of counties statewide, with LaSalle as the 14th highest. Statewide unemployment is considerably lower at 6.8% and the national rate is 5.1%.