Jobless rate 7.7 percent in January

The Illinois Department of Employment Security, IDES, reports that the state’s unemployment rate decreased 0.3 of a percentage point to 7.7 percent in January.

Nonfarm payrolls were up 9,700 jobs in January, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and released by IDES. 

The state’s unemployment rate was 1.4 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate reported for January, which was 6.3 percent, down 0.4 of a percentage point from the previous month.