The unemployment rate has increased locally over the past year, according to information released by the Illinois Department of Employment security. The January jobless rate in Vermilion County was 6.6 percent, an increase from 6 percent last year. The rate in Champaign County was 4.6 percent, compared to 3.9 percent a year ago.
In the City of Danville, the jobless rate stood at 7.3 percent, a full one percent higher than the 6.3 percent in 2023. In Urbana it was 4.5 percent, compared to 4 percent last year. In the City of Champaign, the rate was 4.3 percent, an increase from 3.7 percent last January.
Sectors that had employment declines from a year ago were Professional-Business Services, Information, Transportation-Warehousing-
