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Illinois, Indiana add jobs in 2013

By Sun-Times Wire

Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin closed out 2013 with more jobs than when the year started. But Illinois’ jobless rate remains stubbornly high, according to a new Labor Department report.

Illinois added 62,200 jobs last year but the state’s unemployment rate was a seasonally adjusted 8.6 percent in December the third-highest in the nation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. Indiana added 51,500 jobs, and Wisconsin saw 44,500 new jobs in 2013.

Unemployment rates fell in four out of five U.S. states in December. The unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent nationwide, the lowest in more than five years. But the decline occurred mostly because more people stopped looking for work. The government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively looking for work.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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