Unemployment up in all Illinois cities

Officials say the unemployment rate is up in all the state's 12 metropolitan areas.

Rockford has the highest unemployment rate at 8.6 percent. The northern Illinois city also had the biggest unemployment jump, a 2.7 percent increase from June 2007.

Second-highest was Danville, in east-central Illinois, with 8.4 percent, followed by Kankakee-Bradley with 8.2 percent.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security released the numbers Thursday.

The agency says four areas -- Champaign-Urbana, Lake County, Springfield, and Bloomington-Normal, recorded their highest unemployment rates since 1990.

Earlier this month IDES said Illinois' unemployment rate overall increased to 6.8 percent. The national figure was 5.5 percent.