The Mercer County unemployment rate under 5-percent at 4.5 percent. The number is for August and represents an 8-point improvement from the same period a year ago. Unemployment also improved in year over year levels in Henry, Henderson, Knox, Rock Island and Warren Counties last month mainly due to employment gains in the Construction and Educational-Health Services sectors. Statewide, the unemployment rate is 5.2 percent and all 14 metro areas in Illinois saw a drop in the jobless rate from August of 2016 to August of 2017 says Bob Gough with IDES.
The national unemployment rate is 4.5 percent. The highest unemployment rate in the region is 6.3 percent in Fulton County.