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Economy

QC Unemployment Falls in November

Unemployment fell in the Quad Cities last month by nearly one full percentage point.

Tom Austin from the Illinois Department of Employment Security says the jobless rate in November was 4.8 per cent, down from 5.7 per cent a year ago. And the last time November's rate was this low was in 2007.

"We see people aging out of the labor force, we do see some people that might become discouraged and leave the labor force. But we also see people who might be moving to seek other job opportunities."

Just last month, the unemployment rate in the Quad Cities was 5.4 per cent.

November's rate means about 9,100 people were unemployed and looking for work in November. Our area lost jobs in manufacturing, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality, but we gained jobs in government, construction, and education and health services. 

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.