Year-over-year unemployment rates have risen in every local county compared to this time last year.
Locally, the unemployment rate in Mercer County is 6.1%. The number is for December and compares to a 4.5% figure recorded a year ago, according to data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
The unemployment rate is also up at least a full percentage point from December 2024 in Henderson, Henry, Knox, Rock Island and Warren Counties.
Statewide, the unemployment rate is 4.6%. The nationwide unemployment rate is 4.4%. Both of those numbers are also higher than in December 2024.