Unemployment in the Quad Cities fell in September to 3.7 per cent, from 4.1 per cent during the same month a year ago. And it's down two-tenths of one per cent from August.
Tom Austin, from the Illinois Department of Employment Security, credits a combination of fewer people considered unemployed, and more people working.
"And that's bolstered by the numbers we're seeing with our non-farm payrolls where we're continuing to see growth there, over-the-year growth of 2,300. A lot of that in the manufacturing sector as well as leisure and hospitality which is a larger industry in the Quad Cities area."
The Quad Cities also gained jobs in construction and financial activities, but lost jobs in retail, government, and education and health services.
Unemployment at 3.7 per cent translates into about 7,200 people who were out of work in September and looking for jobs. And that also means our monthly unemployment rate has fallen below the year-ago level, each month for two years - since October of 2016.
The jobless rate dropped in 12 of Illinois' 14 major metropolitan areas last month.
