As U.S. Unemployment Rate Goes Up, Local Job Clubs See Steady Demand

Local clubs and services to help job-seekers are continuing to be in demand, as the Labor Department reported Friday that the national unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent in May from 9 percent in April. 

Attendance at the weekly Job Club, held every Monday at the , has held steady through the year. 

Meanwhile, Chris Otis, moderator and volunteer for the Lisle Township Job Club, volunteers his time at 10 a.m. every Monday to help job-seekers fine tune their resumes and cover letters and share advice on the job search. 

The club also hosts multiple speakers during its sessions, such as recent graduates, unemployed executives and those looking for a career change.

Otis said typically a group of a dozen people will meet for job club—five or six will be there to help job-seekers, and five or six will be job-seekers looking for assistance. 

Anywhere from two to seven new people attend each meeting, but Otis said he hasn't noticed a recent spike. Though club attendance has remained at about the same level, Otis said many people attend one meeting and never return.

"A lot of them for some reason just come once," Otis said. "They get the materials we hand out and we talk about their resume." 

Otis advises job-seekers to return to the meetings to continue fine-tuning their resumes. He also points job-seekers to the weekly Lisle Township Job Club networking meetings, which are held Wednesday mornings in Naperville at the Community Career Center.

According to a Reuters article, economists polled by Reuters expected payrolls to rise 150,000 and private hiring to increase 175,000. Nonfarm payrolls instead increased 54,000, according to the Labor Department's report, and private employment rose 83,000. Government payrolls saw a drop of 29,000, the report said.

Even so, Woodridge is faring better in employment than it was last year. The unemployment rate dropped from 9.3 percent in April 2010 to 7.6 percent in April 2011. However, unemployment rose slightly from 7.3 percent in March 2011 to 7.6 percent in April 2011. 

According to numbers from the state's April unemployment report, Woodridge has a lower unemployment rate than the state and national averages. But the village has a higher unemployment rate than the DuPage County average and some of its surrounding communities.

Below are the numbers, including an indication of which month the data is from. 

National average: 9.1 percent (May) 

State average: 8.6 percent (April) 

DuPage County: 7 percent (April) 

Woodridge: 7.6 percent (April) 

Naperville: 6.1 percent (April)

Downers Grove: 6.2 percent (April)

Bolingbrook: 8.3 percent (April)