Unemployment rates in southern Illinois didn’t change much in the month of August, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Wayne County’s rate came in at 4.3 percent for August, compared to 4.2 percent in July. Edwards County had an August unemployment rate of seven percent, down from 7.2 percent in July. Clay County’s rate for August was 3.8 percent for August. Jefferson County’s rate was 4.6 percent. Marion County’s rate was 4.2 percent.
The IDES said there were 500 fewer nonfarm jobs in the Centralia-Mt. Vernon labor markets this August compared to last year. The biggest job increases were reported in the private education-health services and government, with the biggest losses in professional-business services.