Ill. unemployment climbs in May to 8.9 percent

The Illinois Department of Employment Security says the state's unemployment rate increased to 8.9 percent in May. That's up from 8.7 percent just a month earlier and the first monthly increase since January 2010.

The department said Thursday in its monthly release on the statewide unemployment picture that:

• Illinois still had lower unemployment in May than the country as a whole.
• The national rate was 9.1 percent.
• That's up slightly from 9 percent in April.

More detailed data on Illinois counties and metro areas will be released next Thursday.