Unemployment rates in Illinois are down around the state, except for the Chicago area. The jobless rate for the metropolitan area increased to 10.4 percent in August. That’s a 0.7 percent increase from last year.

Greg Rivara is a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Employment Security. He says the Chicago area makes up the majority of jobs in the state.

“When we have seen such volatility in the seasonal and not seasonally adjusted numbers, it is to be expected that there would be some sharp movements in the Chicago area numbers just because they make up the bigger part of the pie,” he said.

Rockford showed the largest drop in unemployment at a 1.6 percent decrease. But it still holds the state’s highest jobless rate at just over 13 percent.  Illinois’ overall unemployment rate is 10 percent.