Unemployment rates in DeKalb have increased over the last year.

According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security’s Web site, DeKalb County’s unemployment rate went from 4.8 percent in July 2007 to 7.0 percent in July 2008. This compares with Illinois’s July 2008 unemployment rate of 7.3 percent and the national rate of 5.3 percent.

There are multiple national issues which affect unemployment rates locally.

“In general, the unemployment is going up because the economy is slowing down,” said Carl Campbell, assistant professor of economics and assistant chair of the department of economics at NIU.

Campbell believes the housing market and gas prices have large roles in the slow economy.

Because of an increase in unemployment and financial struggles, more people have to rely on county services for assistance.

“We have had a significant increase in the number of people needing emergency assistance,” said Mary Ramp, executive director of DeKalb County Community Services, 2550 N. Annie Glidden Road. “We have seen almost a 20 percent increase in clients we help.”

DeKalb County Community Services provides emergency assistance for things like utilities when something has happened to create a financial emergency, such as when employment drops, Ramp said.

“We sometimes do some limited financial assistance,” Ramp said, adding that they also provide help with budgeting, goal setting and problem solving to help clients manage their lower incomes as well as referring them to job search agencies.

With the housing market down, fewer jobs are available.

“The housing market creates a lot of jobs,” Campbell said, so the downturn has a strong effect.

Many people are also facing financial struggles due to increasing gas prices.

“The rise in gas prices means people have less disposable income,” Campbell said. “People are having to pay more to buy gas so they have less money left over to buy other products.”

According to an outlook survey done by Manpower Employment, DeKalb and Sycamore employers are expected to hire at a favorable pace in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The survey also found that the most job prospects in the quarter will appear in Transportation/Public Utilities, Wholesale/Retail Trade and Services.

Regardless, Ramp said she does not see the numbers of people in need of emergency assistance dropping anytime soon.