Unemployment rates drop again

     The Illinois Department of Employment Security has good news for area job-seekers.  May’s unemployment figures are out, and show every county in the state with a lower unemployment rate than the previous year.  Bureau County’s was 8.6 percent, down from 9.7 in May of 2010.  Marshall County’s was 6.9 percent, down from last year’s 8.3.  Putnam County’s unemployment rate was 8.9 percent, compared to 10.4 percent a year ago.  La Salle County has dropped from 12.3 to 9.6 percent in the past year.  Statewide, the unemployment rate in May was 8.9 percent.  The point-two percent increase follows 15 months of declining unemployment rates.  The national jobless rate in May was 9.1 percent.