By Shelly Baskin
Murray, KY – State officials say the unemployment rate in Illinois inched up for the third straight month to 9.5 percent in July, up from 9.1 percent in June. Employment security department director Jay Rowell says the July increase, which follows 15 months of declines, reflects uncertainty in consumer confidence and the volatility in the national economy. The recent increases still leave the rate lower than one year ago, when the July unemployment rate was at 10.1 percent. Tennessee's July unemployment rate of 9.8 percent remained unchanged from the previous month.