By AP
Illinois – The Illinois Department of Employment Security says an increase in the state's unemployment rate in May isn't a surprise and could just be a bump in the road toward recovery. But department spokesman Greg Rivara says economists will need another month or two of data to know. The department says May unemployment was 8.9%, up from 8.7% in April and the first monthly increase since January 2010. University of Illinois economist Fred Giertz says the increase probably just means the state's economy is following difficulties at the national level. The national rate was 9.1%. That's up 9% from April. The number of unemployed people int he state rose in May by nearly 10,000 to 585,000.