The Mercer County unemployment rate now at 4.1 percent. The latest number is for September and represents a two-point improvement from the same period a year ago. Unemployment is also steady from year over year levels in Henderson, Henry, Knox, Rock Island and Warren counties. In the region, the largest employment gains were made last month in the Leisure-Hospitality, Manufacturing, and Professional-Business Services sectors. Statewide, the September jobless rate came in at 4.1 percent, the same as August, but a figure Illinois hasn’t seen in awhile says Bob Gough with the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
The national unemployment rate is 3.6 percent. The highest unemployment in the region is 4.9 percent in Fulton County.