Department of Numbers

Rockford, Illinois Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Rockford fell 2.9 percentage points in August 2020 to 11.4%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.4 percentage points higher than the Illinois rate. The unemployment rate in Rockford peaked in April 2020 at 23.7% and is now 12.3 percentage points lower. You can also compare Rockford unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate August 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
National 8.4% -1.8 +4.7
Illinois 11.0% -0.5 +7.2
Rockford 11.4% -2.9 +5.6
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with August 2020 data as September metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Rockford, Illinois, National

Rockford, Illinois monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Rockford, Illinois Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Rockford peaked in April 2020 at 37,771. There are now 18,735 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Rockford employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Rockford, Illinois) is also available.

Unemployed Persons August 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
Rockford 19,036 -4,064 +9,395

Number of Unemployed Persons

Rockford, Illinois Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Illinois
Unemployment Rate		 Rockford
Unemployment Rate		 Rockford
Unemployed
September
2020		 7.9% — — —
August
2020		 8.4% 11.0% 11.4% 19,036
July
2020		 10.2% 11.5% 14.3% 23,100
June
2020		 11.1% 14.5% 16.6% 27,579
May
2020		 13.3% 15.3% 20.7% 33,689
April
2020		 14.7% 17.2% 23.7% 37,771
March
2020		 4.4% 4.2% 5.5% 8,465
February
2020		 3.5% 3.4% 5.6% 9,178
January
2020		 3.6% 3.5% 5.9% 9,747
December
2019		 3.5% 3.7% 5.5% 9,076
November
2019		 3.5% 3.7% 5.6% 9,176
October
2019		 3.6% 3.7% 5.6% 9,320

1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩

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