Knox County saw an increase in its unemployment rate for the month of October.
According to data released this week by the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the unemployment rate in the county was 5.2 percent.
That is 0.2 percent better than the same month from a year ago but 0.2 percent worse than the month of September. From 2021, the labor force in Knox County shrank by 453. From September, the labor force shrank by 383.
The labor force in Warren, Fulton, and Stark counties also shrank from 2021 numbers but grew in Henry and Peoria counties. Knox and Peoria rank among the counties with the worst unemployment rate.
The unemployment rate in Galesburg saw an improvement but also saw a decrease in the labor force.
The unemployment rate in the city was 5.5 percent. That number reflects a half-percentage point decrease from October 2021. However, the labor force decreased by 288 in the last year.
The October rate was also an improvement from September. The decrease in the labor force from the month previous was 255.
