City of Rockford issued the following announcement on Feb. 1.
After a spike in the unemployment rate in November due to a planned shutdown at the Chrysler plant (which impacted suppliers), unemployment numbers in the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area (Boone & Winnebago Counties),fell sharply in December.
*Unemployment in the Rockford MSA was at 6.3 percent, up from 4.9 in December 2017 but down from 9.3 in November.
*About 10,500 people are unemployed in the MSA out of a possible 171,000 in the labor pool.
*In the City of Rockford, the rate was 7.3 percent, up from 5.6 last year but down from 11.3 percent in November.—that’s about 4,900 people out of 68,000 in the labor pool.
*Total non-farm jobs in the Rockford MSA are 153,900, up from 153,000 in December 2017.
*Hiring is strong in the MSA, with about 6,700 open positions in December and 78 percent full-time.
"We continue to see strong numbers in the Rockford MSA and are working diligently to make our region attractive to both new businesses and those looking to grow," said Mayor Tom McNamara. "Looking ahead in 2019, we'll keep focusing on workforce development and making it easier to do business here."
Original source can be found here.
Source: City of Rockford
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