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Unemployment drops in April across southeastern Illinois

The Lawrence County unemployment rate for April was 4.6% down from March and .2% higher than the same month one year ago. That is according to the latest statistics released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).

All area counties had lower jobless rates in April from March. Neighboring Crawford County was at 3.3%, Richland County at 3.9% and Wabash County at 4.6%. Effingham County had the lowest rate in the region at 3.3% followed by Jasper County at 3.4%. The highest rate in the state of Illinois was once again Edwards County where the April rate was 11%, but that was down 3.9% from the previous month of March.

The IDES reported that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 175 jobs in April of 2026.

The Illinois unemployment rate for April was 4.7% down from 5.2% the previous month and up from 4.2% a year ago.

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