By Nick Gale, WLS-AM 890 News

(CHICAGO) — The Illinois Department of Employment Security announced Thursday that the unemployment rate dipped by 0.1 percentage points to 4.9-percent in October and non-farm payrolls increased by +3,400 jobs over-the-month, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  September job growth was revised up to show a smaller decline, -7,900 jobs than initially reported, -10,800 jobs.

October’s monthly payroll drop kept over-the-year job growth well below the national average. While Illinois job growth has had its ups and downs since the beginning of the year, the 3-month trend shows average declines of -2,300 jobs per month from August to October, while the six-month trend shows an increase of +1,900 average monthly job gains from May to October. Both the 3-month and the 6-month changes are better than reported last month.

Over-the-year, non-farm payroll employment increased by +17,800 jobs.

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