The Illinois unemployment rate for January was at 7.7%, an improvement from the 8% rate in December. The drop was fueled by job gains in Professional and Business Services, Leisure and Hospitality, and Others. The Illinois unemployment rate was 1.4% higher that the national rate for January of 6.3%. The Illinois jobless rate for January was up 4.2% from 2020 when it was 3.5%. The individual county unemployment rates for southeastern Illinois were not yet available from the Illinois Department of Employment Security.