State unemployment drops to 6.9 percent

Russetta Rauch of Naperville hit the ground running after being laid off on Oct. 1 with nine other colleagues at a real estate title insurance company.

She did all the right things to start a job search: contacted everyone she knew, followed up on leads, freshened her resume, applied for jobs and renewed her networking skills.

Still, she and her retired husband are worried. They cut back on groceries, gasoline and entertainment and are looking at ways to maximize her severance package.

"Between the stock market in the last few weeks and my job loss, we really took quite a hit," Rauch said.

The losses in the economy statewide were evident when the Illinois Department of Employment Security on Friday issued its report for September, the fourth consecutive month of job losses.

The report said unemployment was 6.9 percent, down 0.4 from the month before, but considerably higher than a year ago. In September 2007, unemployment was 5.2 percent.

A three-month average showed unemployment at 7.1 percent - the highest since November 1993.

Compared to the same period last year, the hardest hit sectors statewide were construction with 10,000 job losses, financial activities with 6,500, manufacturing with 3,200 and government with 3,000.

Manufacturing, in fact, showed signs of stabilizing and wasn't the state's biggest losing sector, said Mitch Daniels, IDES labor market economist, based in Springfield.

"Quite a few in the manufacturing sector were lucky enough to be in a good niche export market," Daniels said. "Some continue losing jobs, but some are doing well."

Compared to the same period last year, educational and health services as well as professional and business services were the only two sectors to gain jobs.

Nationwide, unemployment remained at a five-year high of 6.1 percent during September. Employers cut jobs by 159,000 for nine consecutive months. Total nationwide job losses mounted to 760,000.

More senior managers have been downsized at area companies, said Jan Marino, president of Lisle-based High Gain Companies Inc., an executive coaching firm. She also volunteers at Naperville-based Community Career Center, which helps the unemployed search for jobs.

"The job search process has not changed," said Marino. "The message to take away is that people need to get away from their computers and get out there and talk with people face to face."

Rauch, 62, understands that more than anyone after being forced to start over again.

"I definitely want to keep working and plan to just get out there and keep trying," Rauch said.