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Economy

Unemployment Rose Slightly in October

Unemployment rose slightly in the Quad Cities last month - up one-tenth of one per cent to 3.9 per cent. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says there were similar small increases in most of the state in October, mainly due to more people entering the job market and not due to layoffs.

The Quad Cities added 3,700 jobs compared to the same month a year ago - including 1,400 in manufacturing, plus smaller increases in leisure and hospitality, and construction. The only decline, and it was small, was in retail - a loss of just 200 jobs versus a year ago.

The October unemployment rate of 3.9 per cent in the Quad Cities means an estimated 7,600 people were out of work and looking for a job. 

A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.