What a difference a year makes. Last April just as the COVID-19 lockdowns began to devastate local businesses, unemployment in Wabash County spiked to 26.5%. But this past April as things have reopened, the jobless rate has dropped to 4.6%. In March of this year, the rate was 5.2%.

Compared to April of 2020, total nonfarm employment increased by 1,350 compared as the biggest employment gains were posted in Manufacturing, Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, and Leisure and Hospitality. The only payroll declines came in natural resources and mining and financial activities and both of those decreases were minimal.

The lowest southern Illinois unemployment rate in April was in Randolph County at 4.3% while the highest was in Pulaski County at 9.2%.