Area sees most job losses in nearly 20 years

Lake County saw a huge increase in unemployment - from 6.5 percent to 9.8 percent - during February, while every metro region in and around Chicago also saw its highest increase in about 20 years, according to figures released today from the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

The metro areas that reported the greatest increases in the unemployment rate were: Rockford up 5.8 points to 14 percent; Chicago-Naperville-Joliet area up 3.4 points to 9 percent; Kankakee-Bradley up 3.3 points to 12 percent; and Peoria up 3.3 points to 9.1 percent, the state said.

Over the year, the total number of payroll jobs decreased in eight metropolitan areas, increased in three, and was unchanged in one.

The largest decreases were recorded in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Division down 3.3 percent with a loss of 126,400 jobs; the Rockford area down 3 percent with a loss of 4,800; and the Kankakee-Bradley area down 1.8 percent with a loss of 800 jobs.