Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Every metro area of Illinois — including Springfield — had another month of year-over-year unemployment decreases in the month of July, and many had job growth, also including Springfield.

According to not-seasonally-adjusted federal data supplied through the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the Springfield-area unemployment rate for July was at 4.2 percent — down 0.6 percentage points from the rate in July of 2024.  The Springfield city unemployment rate was at 4.7 percent, down 0.6 percentage points.  For all of Sangamon County, the unemployment rate dropped 0.5 percentage points to 4.3 percent.  And, the Menard County unemployment rate of 3.7 percent for July was down 0.6 percentage points from the year before.

“Illinois continues to showcase the resiliency of our economy, with unemployment declining across all twelve metro areas for the second month in a row and consecutive months of job gains in Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield,” said Deputy Governor Andy Manar, in a news release. “The state remains committed to workforce development programs and resources that ensure communities across Illinois can fully benefit from them.”

In the Springfield area, 111,600 total non-farm jobs were available in July, 2025.  That’s an increase of 1,900 from July, 2024, and had the largest over-the-year percentage increase (1.1%) out of all twelve metro areas.  The Springfield area has seen 21 consecutive months of job growth.

Job sectors increasing their rolls in the year-over-year period in Springfield were in Information, Retail Trade, Private Education-Health Services, Transportation-Warehousing-Utilities, and Wholesale Trade; while declines were seen in Professional-Business Services, Government, and other services.  Unchanged payrolls were in Financial Activities, Leisure-Hospitality, Manufacturing, and Mining-Construction.

The statewide unemployment rate of 4.9 percent declined 0.9 percentage points in July, 2025 compared to the year before.  A total of 16,500 jobs were added statewide year-over-year.

The state notes that as required by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates and total non-farm payroll jobs for 2024 were revised in March and April, 2025.