Politics & Government

St. Charles Jobless Numbers Up in December 2012

The DePage County part of St. Charles showed a continued decline, however, as statewide unemployment increased slightly from November to December 2012. Numbers are still down from December 2011.

By Michael Sewall

Unemployment rates increased slightly in most of St. Charles, as well as elsewhere in Illinois, from November 2012 to December, but the numbers are still down from December 2011, according to new figures released last week.

December figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Illinois Department of Employment Security show St. Charles’ jobless rate in the city’s Kane County portion increasing from 6.5 percent in November to 7.0 percent in December, but still down from 7.8 in December 2011.

Find out what's happening in St. Charleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On the DuPage County side of St. Charles, unemployment actually dropped to 2.8 percent in December from 3.1 in November, and from 4.8 percent in December 2011.

December local unemployment rates fell in nine of 12 metro areas compared to last year, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

Find out what's happening in St. Charleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The most pressing challenge to our economic progress is the uncertainty tied to Congress, the debt ceiling and the fiscal cliff," IDES Director Jay Rowell said. "Our economic recovery could be compromised if Congress is not seen as working together to build a solution."

IDES generally reports unemployment figures for municipalities with populations of 25,000 or more people. The numbers measure unemployment for residents who live in a certain town, not those who work in the town. 

Statewide the unemployment rate increased from 8.3 percent in November 2012 to 8.6 percent in December. Compared to December 2011, unemployment in Illinois has dropped 0.7 percent. 

The U.S. average unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in November 2012. See below for local unemployment rates near you, or go to the IDES website for a full list of municipalities

KANE


Dec. 2012

Nov. 2012

Dec. 2011

% Change Over Month

% Change Over Year

Aurora

8.6

7.9

8.9

0.7

-0.3

Batavia

7.0

6.7

7.9

0.3

-0.9

Elgin

11.6

9.6

13.1

2.0

-1.5

St. Charles (Kane County portion)

7.0

6.5

7.8

0.5

-0.8

St. Charles (DuPage portion)

2.8

3.1

4.8

-0.3

-2

Kane County

9.0

8.0

9.8

1.0

-0.8

DuPage County

6.9

6.7

7.3

0.2

-0.4

Illinois

8.6

8.3

9.3

0.3

-0.7

U.S. Average

7.6

7.4

8.3

0.2

-0.7

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