Friday’s Illinois COVID-19 update reported 1,622 new cases with 86 additional deaths. The state has now recorded 117,455 cases including 5,270 deaths. The rolling seven-day positive test rate dropped to eight percent.
Governor JB Pritzker said Friday’s COVID-19 briefing was his last daily session although news conferences will be held as needed. The Illinois Department of Public Health will continue to provide statistics on the coronavirus each afternoon.
The number of nonfarm jobs dropped and the unemployment rate rose in all of Illinois in April. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported the state lost nearly 809,000 jobs while the statewide unemployment rate rose to 16.9 percent compared to 3.6 percent last April. The Springfield area jobless rate for April was 14.2 percent, up from 3.5 percent one year earlier, and lost 12,500 jobs over the year.
