Kankakee County, IL jobs, unemployment and layoffs
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Show me jobs near meKankakee County economy
4.2%
unemployment, Sep 2026
5.4% the month before
49,774
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
106,833
people in Kankakee County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$68,325
median household income
Source: Census ACS
31%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS
Where Kankakee County ranks
Where Kankakee County placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #6Counties where unemployment fell the most in the Midwest−1.2 points · of 100
- #6Counties where unemployment fell the most in the Great Lakes−1.2 points · of 100
Kankakee County outlook: Steady
Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.
- Private-sector jobs down 2.1% from 2022 to 2025
- Population down 1.7% from 2020 to 2025
- Unemployment 4.2%, down 1.2 points from a year ago
- Sectors adding the most jobs: hotels & food (+394 jobs)
- Sectors losing the most jobs: admin & staffing (−665 jobs)
Learn and get funded in Kankakee County
- Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
- Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
- Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
- Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.
Kankakee County layoffs
No layoff notices naming Kankakee County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.
Employers hiring most in Kankakee County
Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.
- Gotion41 open roles
- Riverside Health Care System4 open roles
- Central Valley Medical Center1 open role
- Central Valley Medical Center1 open role
- Coosa Valley Medical Center1 open role
- Coosa Valley Medical Center1 open role
- CSL1 open role
- Del Monte1 open role
- DEL Monte1 open role
- Dollar General1 open role
Colleges in Kankakee County
| College | City | Type | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais | Private non-profit 4-year | 1,000–4,999 |
Workforce development and job centers
The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Kankakee County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.
Laid off in Illinois? How to file for unemployment in Illinois (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).
- Grundy Livingston Kankakee Workforce Board
Grundy, Kankakee, Livingston
Kankakee Workforce Services
Bradley · Comprehensive · 815-802-8960
Monday-Friday 8:00 am -5:00 pm
Cities in Kankakee County
Other Illinois counties
Laid off or looking for work in Kankakee County?
See what to do first and the jobs open near you.
See your options after a layoffSources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Illinois’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Illinois unemployment benefits and severance rules.
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