Counties with the highest unemployment in Illinois
The first jobs report fully under the new Trump administration showed a softening job market, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.1% in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released March 7.
Job growth increased but fell below expectations, one of several possible fissures appearing in the once rock-solid labor market. Businesses are pulling back on hiring as the economic forecast and policy outlook grow murkier due to volatile trade policies and large cuts to the federal workforce.
Federal government employment fell by 10,000 in February, pushing up total cuts to the federal workforce. In the first two months of 2025, 62,530 federal workers were let go. However, the most recent cuts, including the Department of Education's workforce getting slashed by nearly half, have not yet appeared in official jobs data. Retail employment also fell by 6,000.
The broader unemployment index, known as the U-6, which also includes laborers working part-time because they can't find full-time work, and those who want to work but have given up searching, rose to 8%, its highest since October 2021.
To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Illinois, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in January 2025, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Key takeaways: Jobs report shows softening labor market
February's job growth of 151,000 fell below economists' expected gains of 160,000, showing the labor market is cooling faster than predicted. Experts say many companies weighing policy changes and economic uncertainty are deciding it's safer to hold off on hiring decisions for now.
"If you were a company and you were saying, 'I'm looking to expand, or I'm looking to hire,' you would have investors in those companies saying, 'Are you crazy?'" Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist at Lightcast, told Marketplace.
Consumer spending fell in January for the first time in two years, which may have led to layoffs or hiring slowdowns, Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, told NBC News.
The big story: From bold promises to frozen labor market
After an initial market pop following Trump's electoral win, indexes have slumped to below when he took office, and uncertainty about the future of the markets is a common theme. Are threatened tariffs in place, delayed, reversed, or ramped up? Has that federal worker been fired or given their job back? Are those federal dollars slashed or reinstated? It's a question mark that changes daily.
Research shows that uncertainty invites lower investment, slows employment, and increases financial market volatility. The word "uncertain" showed up 47 times in the March edition of the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve's snapshot of reports from across the nation, compared to 17 times in the previous report from January.
The new administration's blitz of executive orders and trade policy waffling have cast a dense fog over the short-term economic outlook. One thing that is known? Uncertainty isn't good for business planning, job creation, or hiring.
In a March 12 interview with Semafor, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon noted that average consumers likely don't change "what they're going to do because they read about tariffs," but "companies might."
"Uncertainty is not a good thing," Dimon added.
To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Illinois.
49. Macoupin County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,548 people (1,024 unemployed)
49. Lee County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,718 people (740 unemployed)
46. Whiteside County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 27,104 people (1,369 unemployed)
46. Hamilton County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,554 people (182 unemployed)
46. Pope County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: +2.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,239 people (63 unemployed)
40. Marion County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,221 people (849 unemployed)
40. Cook County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,763,180 people (142,390 unemployed)
40. Tazewell County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 64,666 people (3,332 unemployed)
40. Clark County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,189 people (371 unemployed)
40. Cass County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,906 people (305 unemployed)
40. Will County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 393,154 people (20,548 unemployed)
36. Knox County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,559 people (1,099 unemployed)
36. Stephenson County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,820 people (1,106 unemployed)
36. Montgomery County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,693 people (622 unemployed)
36. Logan County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,998 people (580 unemployed)
34. Kane County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 274,436 people (14,901 unemployed)
34. Franklin County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,258 people (872 unemployed)
32. Lake County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 365,553 people (20,062 unemployed)
32. Hardin County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,425 people (78 unemployed)
27. Perry County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,121 people (454 unemployed)
27. Carroll County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,587 people (371 unemployed)
27. Ogle County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,785 people (1,387 unemployed)
27. Winnebago County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 132,687 people (7,471 unemployed)
27. Pike County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,034 people (339 unemployed)
24. Johnson County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,387 people (250 unemployed)
24. Henderson County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: +2.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,116 people (179 unemployed)
24. Marshall County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,283 people (303 unemployed)
21. Henry County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,680 people (1,368 unemployed)
21. Iroquois County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,807 people (686 unemployed)
21. Union County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,492 people (431 unemployed)
20. Fulton County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,140 people (890 unemployed)
16. Peoria County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 84,938 people (5,121 unemployed)
16. Mason County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,012 people (358 unemployed)
16. Clay County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,681 people (340 unemployed)
16. Macon County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 43,772 people (2,636 unemployed)
14. Fayette County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,924 people (544 unemployed)
14. Grundy County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 29,982 people (1,821 unemployed)
13. Rock Island County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 66,670 people (4,114 unemployed)
12. Kankakee County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 50,656 people (3,177 unemployed)
6. LaSalle County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 51,795 people (3,291 unemployed)
6. Vermilion County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 30,513 people (1,961 unemployed)
6. Mercer County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +2.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,464 people (475 unemployed)
6. Pulaski County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,629 people (105 unemployed)
6. Stark County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,472 people (157 unemployed)
6. Schuyler County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,750 people (175 unemployed)
5. Putnam County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,934 people (190 unemployed)
4. Bureau County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,184 people (995 unemployed)
3. Boone County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -2.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 26,868 people (1,788 unemployed)
1. Alexander County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,684 people (120 unemployed)
1. Scott County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,190 people (155 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Ben Popken, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
