Dec. 17--Illinois' unemployment rate ticked up in November as more people returned to the labor force looking for work.
At 5.7 percent, the November unemployment rate is up slightly from 5.4 percent in October but down from 6.2 percent in November 2014, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, which released the numbers Thursday.
Director Jeff Mays said the increase is "primarily the result of more people re-entering the labor force looking for work."
"While the increase in the unemployment rate is disappointing, our challenge for the coming year is to grow more jobs to create opportunities for more Illinois workers," he said in a news release.
Illinois has lagged behind the rest of the nation's economic recovery. The national unemployment rate in November was 5 percent, holding steady from the prior month.
Illinois' greatest job losses over the past year have been in manufacturing, which is down 12,800 jobs from last November. The mining industry has lost another 1,100 jobs. The state has gained the most jobs in professional and business services, and education and health services.
The state gained a net 400 jobs in November. It added 4,300 jobs, mostly in trade, transportation and utilities, leisure and hospitality, and a category known as "other services." It lost 3,900 jobs, mostly in construction, professional and business services, and education and health services.
The unemployment rate refers to people who are out of work and seeking employment. Another unemployment measure, known as U-6, which also counts discouraged workers who stopped looking and part-time workers who want but can't get full-time jobs, in November stood nationally at 9.9 percent.
The Illinois U-6 rate is calculated on a four-quarter moving-average basis to account for small sample sizes at the state level. The most recent report, released in October, had it at 11.1 percent. The national rate over the same period was 10.8 percent.
aelejalderuiz@tribpub.com
