Temporary layoffs in the manufacturing sector are taking a toll on the area’s unemployment rate. The Illinois Department of Employment Security reports eight-point-eight percent of people living in the Metropolitan Statistical Area filed unemployment claims in June. That’s up nearly one-percent from the same time last year. It’s also an increase from the rate in May.
The Department of Employment Security says temporary layoffs in manufacturing are the biggest reason for the increase. There were also job losses in professional-business services. There were job gains in in Educational-Health Services and Wholesale trade.