October Jobless Rates Well Down From Year-Ago Rates

October unemployment rates continued to drop, although they are still higher than when the pandemic began.

Effingham County’s jobless rate in October was 3.5%, up from 2.9% in October 2019. Rates earlier this year, though, approached double digits at the start of the pandemic.

Here are the area county rates for October:

• Coles—4.6%, up from 3.6%
• Cumberland—3.3%, up from 2.8%
• Shelby—3.5%, up from 3.4%
• Clay—4.2%, up from 3.9%
• Fayette—4.1%, up from 3.7%
• Jasper—the one exception, as the October rate was 3%, down from 3.5% a year ago.