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Economy

Lowest March Unemployment in 18 Years

Unemployment fell again in the Quad Cities in March. The rate dropped from 4.9 per cent a year ago to 4.2 per cent last month. 

Tom Austin from the Illinois Department of Employment Security says this is the lowest March unemployment in the Quad Cities since 2,000 when it also came in at 4.2 per cent. And the credit goes to job gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing.

"We've been seeing manufacturing expand in the last few months and that's a positive sign. And that also adds into why we're seeing some gains in professional and business services which also feeds into the manufacturing sector. "

But there were also some job losses here - in construction, retail, and education and health services.

The rate of 4.2 per cent means during March an estimated 8,100 people were unemployed - that is out of work and looking for a new job. 

Unemployment rates fell across Illinois last month, with the highest rate in Danville at 5.8 per cent, and the lowest rate at 3.8 per cent in both Champaign and Bloomington. 

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.