Bloomington, Illinois Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Bloomington rose 0.3 percentage points in October 2018 to 4.2%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.0 percentage points lower than the Illinois rate. The unemployment rate in Bloomington peaked in October 2009 at 8.1% and is now 3.9 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 3.3% in February 2018, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.9 percentage points. You can also compare Bloomington unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	October 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	3.7%	0.0	-0.4
Illinois	4.2%	+0.1	-0.7
Bloomington	4.2%	+0.3	+0.4

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with October 2018 data as November metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Bloomington, Illinois, National

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Bloomington, Illinois Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Bloomington peaked in February 2010 at 8,266. There are now 4,163 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 3,158 in February 2018, the number of unemployed has now grown by 945.

Unemployed Persons	October 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
Bloomington	4,103	+345	+467

Number of Unemployed Persons

Bloomington, Illinois Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	Illinois Unemployment Rate	Bloomington Unemployment Rate	Bloomington Unemployed
November 2018	3.7%	—	—	—
October 2018	3.7%	4.2%	4.2%	4,103
September 2018	3.7%	4.1%	3.9%	3,758
August 2018	3.9%	4.1%	3.9%	3,773
July 2018	3.9%	4.2%	3.9%	3,796
June 2018	4.0%	4.3%	4.0%	3,877
May 2018	3.8%	4.3%	3.7%	3,606
April 2018	3.9%	4.4%	3.7%	3,579
March 2018	4.1%	4.6%	3.6%	3,486
February 2018	4.1%	4.7%	3.3%	3,158
January 2018	4.1%	4.8%	3.6%	3,463
December 2017	4.1%	4.9%	3.8%	3,647