WCIA-TV summarizes the situation:
According to IDES, the unemployment rate fell -0.1 percent to 5.2 percent in December based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Illinois’ unemployment rate was still 1.1 percent higher than the national unemployment rate last month. That state’s unemployment rate was also up 0.5 percent from a year ago when it was 4.7 percent.
