Knox County, IL jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Knox County’s unemployment rate is 4.3%. No layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 23 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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Knox County economy

4.3%
unemployment, Sep 2026
5.3% the month before
20,521
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
49,294
people in Knox County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$53,291
median household income
Source: Census ACS
34%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Where Knox County ranks

Where Knox County placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.

November 2026

#14Counties where unemployment fell the most in the Midwest−1.0 points · of 100
#14Counties where unemployment fell the most in the Great Lakes−1.0 points · of 100

Knox 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 up 6.3% from 2022 to 2025
Population down 4.1% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 4.3%, down 1.0 points from a year ago

Learn and get funded in Knox 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.

Knox County layoffs

No layoff notices naming Knox 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.

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Knox 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.

Carl Sandburg College3 open roles
OSF HealthCare3 open roles
Knox College2 open roles
Automationtechies1 open role
Blick Art Materials1 open role
Bridgeway1 open role
Elgen Staffing1 open role
Greystone Technology1 open role
Growmark1 open role
Helen Ross McNabb Center1 open role

Colleges in Knox County

Colleges in Knox County
College	City	Type	Students
Knox College	Galesburg	Private non-profit 4-year	1,000–4,999

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Knox 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).

Two Rivers Regional Council
Adams, Brown, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, McDonough, Pike, Schuyler, Warren

Cities in Knox County

Other Illinois counties

All of Illinois

Laid off or looking for work in Knox County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: 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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