The Mercer County unemployment rate is at 4.4 percent. The number is for October and represents a one-percent improvement from the same period a year ago. Unemployment is also down from year over year levels in Rock Island, Henderson, Warren, Henry and Knox Counties mainly due to payroll gains in the Educational-Health Services, Professional-Business Services, and Construction sectors. Statewide, the unemployment rate is 4.7 percent–down from 5.0 percent in September. Illinois Department of Employment Security spokesperson Bob Gough says there was also an increase of 3,400 jobs in October.
The national unemployment rate is 3.9 percent. The highest unemployment rate in the region is 5.6 percent in Fulton County.