The phrase "It's Better Here" seems to have weathered the economic storm in Central Illinois, particularly in the River City. Peoria's unemployment rate has dipped to 9.3 percent.
"And that is down from 10.9 last month, that means 3,000 more people are employed this month compared to last month," said Central Illinois Economic Development Council President, Vickie Clark .
According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, Peoria lost 22 hundred jobs over the last year, but Clark said that may not be the case for long.
"We are hearing from some of our manufacturers that they're starting to hire back", said Clark. " We've heard from some of the larger employers in the area that they're starting to hire back."
"The staffing service industry is a leading indicator of the economic condition," said Peoria Manpower president Doug Orear.
And Orear said the temp agency is busy, especially as some businesses are taking their time recalling laid-off full-time employees.
"Companies at large are still not sold on the economic condition around the corner, but they are busy," said the president.
He added the hiring trend right now is for skill-based workers.
Quality Assurance Inspector, Daniel Greenleaf was at the temp agency Thursday afternoon. He was laid-off in November of last year.
When I asked how his job hunt was going, he responded, "It's been pretty tough, there's not a lot there."
But after learning about Peoria's decreasing unemployment rate, he changed his outlook.
"Pretty optimistic, I'm thinking there is some jobs that are opening up in the area, so I think things are starting to improve," said Greenleaf.
Clark said, "We are actually lower in unemployment than the national and state average and that has not occurred in about a year."
She said with large scale construction projects expected to get underway soon, the job market in the area is sure to improve.
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