(Undated) – The jobless rate is trending downward across the state but remains virtually unchanged in the WTYE area. Preliminary data released yesterday shows unemployment rates decreased in 13 metro areas from August 2017 to August 2018. Here in Crawford County the August 2018 unemployment rate was at 5.4 an increase of .2 from last year at this time. Jasper County went from 4.8 in August of 2017 to 5.1 in August of this year. Lawrence County saw a decline in the jobless rate from 6.2 to 5.9. Cumberland County has one of the lowest jobless rates in the area at 3.9. Illinois businesses added jobs in ten metro areas, with the largest increase in Kankakee. Carbondale-Marion, Springfield and Bloomington all lost jobs.
