Unemployment rate in DeKalb County drops 6.1%

By Northern Star Staff

DeKALB – The unemployment rate in all metropolitan areas in Illinois has decreased over the year, according to an August news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment Security. 

The data, which tracked Illinois unemployment numbers from July 2020 to July 2021, recorded dramatic decreases in the unemployment rate statewide, with an average decrease of 5.4% across Illinois.

“Today’s data is reflective that reopening and recovery is touching every corner of the state,” Deputy Governor Andy Manar said.

The Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metropolitan Area, under which DeKalb County falls, saw a 5.3% decrease in unemployment, falling from 13.3% in July 2020 to 8% in July 2021. In terms of over-the-year decreases in the unemployment rate, this drop places the Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metropolitan Area fourth out of 14 Metropolitan Areas in Illinois.

DeKalb County, in particular, saw an even greater drop from an 11.7% unemployment rate in July 2020 to 5.6% in July 2021, a 6.1% decrease.

The metropolitan areas with the largest unemployment rate decreases were the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area which fell 7.3% percentage points over the year to the current 8.7%, the Elgin Metro Division which fell 6.6 points to the current 5.6% unemployment and the Decatur MSA which fell 6.2 points to a current rate of 7.5% unemployment.