The Mercer County unemployment rate is at 7.3 percent. The latest number is for February and represents a 1.3 percent improvement from the same period a year ago. Unemployment is also down from year over year levels in Henry, Henderson, Warren, Knox and Rock Island Counties mainly due to employment gains in the Educational-Health Services, Professional-Business Services, and Government sectors. Statewide the unemployment rate is 5.5 percent says Bob Gough with the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
The national unemployment rate is 4.9 percent. The highest unemployment rate in the region is 8.3 percent in Stark County.