State's unemployment drops to 9.9 percent in Aug.

The jobless rate in Illinois was 9.9 percent in August, down from 10.4 percent in July.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security on Thursday released new statewide and 12 metro area figures. Rockford saw the greatest increase in unemployment, rising to 15.1 percent this year compared with a 9.7 percent rate in August 2008.

The Chicago-Naperville-Joliet metro area reported the largest percentage decrease in jobs with a loss of 192,400 positions. The Bloomington-Normal area had the lowest jobless rate statewide at 7.4 percent.

IDES Director Maureen O'Donnell says the new numbers show it's important for workers "to compare their job skills to the evolving job market."

The U.S. jobless rate for August was 9.6 percent.

A look at unemployment in Illinois

The following lists the August 2009 unemployment rate, followed by the August 2008 rate:

Bloomington-Normal: 7.4 percent; 5.9 percent.

Champaign-Urbana: 8.6 percent; 6.6 percent.

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet: 9.6 percent; 6.6 percent.

Danville: 12.1 percent; 9.0 percent.

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island: 8.2 percent; 5.4 percent.

Decatur: 12.4 percent; 8.3 percent.

Kankakee-Bradley: 12.5 percent; 9.2 percent.

Lake-Kenosha: 9.9 percent; 6.9 percent.

Peoria: 10.9 percent; 6.2 percent.

Rockford: 15.1 percent; 9.7 percent.

Springfield: 7.7 percent; 6.6 percent.

St. Louis area (in Illinois): 9.9 percent; 7.6 percent.

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