Unemployment is up this year in all of the states metro areas according to new data released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The Decatur area saw a 5 point 9 percent increase in unemployment from 2009 or approximately 32 hundred jobs. The jobless rate was 9.2% in 2009 compared to 14.4% in 2010. Joining Decatur in metro areas that reported the largest increases compared to 2009 were Rockford and Peoria. Statewide, the January 2010 unemployment rate was 12.2 percent in Illinois and 10.6 percent for the nation.
