Press Release - Thursday, April 24, 2025
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Unemployment Down in 11 of 12 Metro Areas in Illinois
Year-Over-Year Job Growth Continues Across Chicagoland Area
SPRINGFIELD - The unemployment rate decreased in eleven metro areas and increased in one over-the-year for the year ending March 2025, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (DES). Over- the-year, total nonfarm jobs increased in six metropolitan areas and decreased in six.
"Illinois continues to demonstrate the strength and resilience of its labor market across metro areas statewide," said Deputy Governor Andy Manar. "We remain focused on expanding opportunities that drive progress for workers, businesses, and the state as a whole."
The metro areas which had the largest over-the-year percentage increases in total nonfarm jobs were the Champaign-Urbana MSA (+1.9%, +2,300), the Elgin Metropolitan Division (+1.3%, +3,700), the Lake County Metropolitan Division (+0.6%, +2,000), and the Rockford MSA (+0.6%, +900). Total nonfarm jobs in the Chicago- Naperville-Schaumburg Metropolitan Division were up
+10,000 (+0.3%). The metro areas which posted the largest over-the-year decreases in total nonfarm jobs were the Bloomington MSA (-2.5%, -2,400), the Decatur MSA (-2.5%, -1,200), and the Illinois section of the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island IA-IL MSA (-1.8%, -1,600). Industries that saw job growth in the majority of the twelve metro areas included: Private Education and Health Services (eleven areas); Government (eight areas); and Mining and Construction (seven areas).
The metro areas with the largest unemployment rate decreases were the Lake County Metropolitan Division (-1.6 points to 4.6%), the Rockford MSA (-1.5 points to 5.0%), and the Elgin Metropolitan Division (-1.4 points to 4.4%). The Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg Metropolitan Division reported the only increase (+0.7 point to 5.5%).
Unemployment Rates (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
|
Metropolitan Area |
March 2025* |
March 2024** | Over- the-Year Change |
| Bloomington | 3.3% | 3.8% | -0.5 |
| Champaign-Urbana | 3.3% | 4.4% | -1.1 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg | 5.5% | 4.8% | 0.7 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island (IL Section) | 5.0% | 5.6% | -0.6 |
| Decatur | 5.4% | 6.2% | -0.8 |
| Elgin | 4.4% | 5.8% | -1.4 |
| Kankakee | 5.1% | 6.4% | -1.3 |
| Lake | 4.6% | 6.2% | -1.6 |
| Peoria | 4.4% | 5.2% | -0.8 |
| Rockford | 5.0% | 6.5% | -1.5 |
| Springfield | 3.8% | 4.4% | -0.6 |
| St. Louis (IL Section) | 3.4% | 4.5% | -1.1 |
| Illinois Statewide | 5.0% | 5.0% | 0.0 |
| * Preliminary I ** Revised | |||
Total Nonfarm Jobs (Not Seasonally Adjusted) - March 2025
| Metropolitan Area | March | March | Over-the-Year |
|
| 2025* | 2024** | Change |
| Bloomington | 94,500 | 96,900 | -2,400 |
| Champaign-Urbana | 122,900 | 120,600 | 2,300 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg | 3,766,300 | 3,756,300 | 10,000 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island (IL Section) | 87,700 | 89,300 | -1,600 |
| Decatur | 46,200 | 47,400 | -1,200 |
| Elgin | 294,200 | 290,500 | 3,700 |
| Kankakee | 42,900 | 42,800 | 100 |
| Lake | 339,200 | 337,200 | 2,000 |
| Peoria | 170,900 | 171,400 | -500 |
| Rockford | 145,100 | 144,200 | 900 |
| Springfield | 111,200 | 111,400 | -200 |
| St. Louis (IL Section) | 239,800 | 240,900 | -1,100 |
| Illinois Statewide | 6,107,000 | 6,079,500 | 27,500 |
| *Preliminary | **Revised | |||
Not Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates (percent) for Local Counties and Areas
|
Labor Market Area |
Mar 2025 |
Mar 2024 | Over-the- Year Change |
| Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL Metro Division | |||
| Cook County | 5.7 % | 4.9 % | 0.8 |
| DuPage County | 4.6 % | 3.9 % | 0.7 |
| Grundy County | 5.8 % | 5.1 % | 0.7 |
| McHenry County | 5.2 % | 4.5 % | 0.7 |
| Will County | 5.6 % | 4.9 % | 0.7 |
| Elgin, IL Metro Division | |||
| DeKalb County | 4.1 % | 5.1 % | -1.0 |
| Kane County | 4.6 % | 6.1 % | -1.5 |
| Kendall County | 3.9 % | 5.1 % | -1.2 |
| Lake County, IL Metro Division | |||
| Lake County | 4.6 % | 6.2 % | -1.6 |
| Kankakee, IL MSA | |||
| Kankakee County | 5.1 % | 6.4 % | -1.3 |
| Cities |
|
|
|
| Aurora City | 4.7 % | 5.5 % | -0.8 |
| Chicago City | 5.7 % | 5.0 % | 0.7 |
| Elgin City | 6.7 % | 8.2 % | -1.5 |
| Joliet City | 6.7 % | 6.2 % | 0.5 |
| Kankakee City | 6.9 % | 8.7 % | -1.8 |
| Naperville City | 4.2 % | 3.6 % | 0.6 |
Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL Metro Division
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 5.5 percent in March 2025 from 4.8 percent in March 2024.
Total nonfarm employment increased +10,000 compared to March 2024. The Private Education-Health Services (+10,500), Government (7,000), Leisure-Hospitality (+5,900), Financial Activities (+2,400), Transportation-Warehousing-Utilities (+2,100) and Other Services (1,700) sectors had payroll gains over-the-year. The Professional-Business Services (-14,700), Wholesale Trade (-1,800), Construction (-1,400) and Retail Trade (-900) sectors had the largest employment declines from a year ago.
Elgin, IL Metro Division
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 4.4 percent in March 2025 from 5.8 percent in March 2024.
Total nonfarm employment increased +3,700 compared to March 2024. The Private Education-Health Services (+1,900), Government (+1,700), Retail Trade (+900), Financial Activities (+500), Transportation-Warehousing-Utilities (+500) and Other Services (+300) sectors had the largest payroll gains over-the- year. The Leisure-Hospitality (-1,500), Professional-Business Services (-600) and Manufacturing (-300) sectors had employment declines from a year ago.
Lake County, IL Metro Division
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 4.6 percent in March 2025 from 6.2 percent in March 2024.
Total nonfarm employment increased +2,000 compared to March 2024. The Private Education-Health Services (+2,000), Government (+800), Professional-Business Services (+500), Transportation-Warehousing-Utilities (+400) and Leisure- Hospitality (+300) sectors had the largest payroll gains over- the-year. The Retail Trade (-900), Financial Activities (-600), Manufacturing (-400) and Wholesale Trade (-200) sectors had employment declines from a year ago.
Kankakee, IL MSA
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 5.1 percent in March 2025 from 6.4 percent in March 2024.
Total nonfarm employment increased +100 compared to March 2024. The Private Education-Health Services (+400) sector had the only payroll gain over-the-year. The Professional-Business Services (-100), Transportation-Warehousing-Utilities (-100) and Wholesale Trade (-100) sectors had employment declines from a year ago.
Note: Monthly 2024 unemployment rates and total nonfarm jobs for Illinois metro areas were revised in February and March 2025, as required by the U.S. BLS. Comments and tables distributed for prior metro area news releases should be discarded as any records or historical analysis previously cited may no longer be valid.
Disclaimer: The data contained in the metro area employment numbers press releases are not seasonally adjusted, and therefore are subject to seasonal fluctuations due to factors such as changes in weather, harvests, major holidays and school schedules. Current monthly metro data should be compared to the same month from prior years (January 2025 data compared to January 2024 data) as data for these months have similar seasonal patterns. Comparisons should not be made to data for the immediate previous month or other previous non-matching months, as any changes in the data within these time periods may be the result of seasonal fluctuations and not economic factors.
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