Central Illinois saw thousands of new local jobs

PEORIA (25News Now) - The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 6,400 new, non-farming jobs in Peoria were created since February of 2022.

The number reflects the six counties the Peoria Metropolitan Service Area covers: Marshall, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, Woodford and Fulton.

The Greater Peoria Economic Development Council said Friday the increase in jobs displays the economy’s post-pandemic growth. The council sees more jobs to come in the future.

“We’re still as a community recovering our visitor economy,” said CEO Chris Setti. “The convention visitor’s bureau, Discover Peoria, has done a really great job, and we expect their events to continue growing.

The Peoria area added about 900 leisure and hospitality jobs. However, health, education services and government saw the biggest growth adding about 3,600 jobs.

Patrick Hoban of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council said the majority of their job growth is the expansion of one business.

“We’ve known Rivian has been improving their employment over the years,” said the CEO. “There’s been a big lag when it comes to reporting those job numbers.”

Hoban says some of the jobs reported in the manufacturing sector are the result of a lag in reporting by the Federal Bureau of Statistics.

The Bloomington metro area added 4,500 new jobs from February to February, with manufacturing and leisure and hospitality seeing the majority of job gains.

Unemployment numbers - meaning the number of people claiming benefits - were steady year to year in Bloomington and down about one-tenth of a percent in the Peoria area.

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