Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · Kankakee-Bradley, IL MSA · October 2026
Every advertised-pay, job-posting and industry figure in this briefing comes from WageScape's own database of active job postings. The sources below back the external facts cited in the written analysis.
Sources cited in this report
Key Indicators
Kankakee County unemployment at 4.1% in July 2026
Illinois Department of Employment Security — County-level unemployment, most recent available
This Month's Takeaways
Kankakee MSA unemployment rose to 5.5% year-over-year
Illinois Department of Employment Security — Metro unemployment data, October 2025 release
Local Economic Conditions
Kankakee nonfarm payrolls declined 2.1% (-900 jobs) year-over-year
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics / IDES — Metro payroll employment data, September 2025 release
$2 billion EV-battery facility projected to create 2,600+ jobs
Kankakee County Chamber of Commerce — Economic development announcement, 2026
Looking Ahead
Illinois labor force contracted to 6,477,000 in August 2026
Illinois Department of Employment Security — Statewide labor force participation data
Illinois employers filed 91 WARN notices affecting 16,782 workers YTD
Illinois Department of Employment Security — WARN Act notice tracking, year-to-date 2026
How the numbers are calculated
- Advertised pay is the median of the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro. It is not survey or payroll data.
- Percent changes compare the latest six full months with the six months before that, for the same metro and sector.
- Sectors group postings by the employer's industry (NAICS) classification into ten sectors. Where a metro has too few postings in a sector, the state figure is used instead.
- Role pay trends use the same comparison windows. "Stable" means a change of less than 3%; "moderate" 3–10%; "significant" more than 10%.
Official data for comparison