Chicago-area home prices show first signs of recovery after three-year slide | Crain's Chicago Business

Chicago-area home prices show first signs of recovery after three-year slide | Crain's Chicago Business

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From Crain's Chicago Business:

Illinois jobless rate ticks up to 11.5%

By: Monée Fields-White April 15, 2010

(Crain’s) — Unemployment in Illinois edged up in March, holding at a level not seen in almost 27 years.

The jobless rate rose to 11.5% last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to figures released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. That’s up from 11.4% in February. A year ago, the rate stood at 8.6%.

While the unemployment rate in March was the highest since July 1983, the state did record an increase in jobs for a third consecutive month. Last month, employers added 3,000 jobs. The three-month moving average shows a gain of 8,900 jobs.

“Three consecutive months of job growth offers cautious optimism that the effects of this national recession might be softening,” IDES Director Maureen O’Donnell said in a statement.

Still, there were 148,500 fewer people employed in the state during last month compared with the same month in 2009. That’s led by declines in manufacturing and construction.

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Bob Formisano - About.com Home Repair Guide [homerepair.guide@about.com]

This guy's blog is so useful. The most recent post is about troubleshooting garbage disposal repairs, one of my personal favorite things to not have to call a plumber for. Not that I don't like my plumber...he's really cute and very skilled, but he has the annoying habit of charging me for showing up and fixing my life. Garbage disposal problems are particularly expensive, since they invariably happen on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas when hoards of people are over and the sink is full of potato peelings (lesson: run the disposer often, not all at once, and don't cram it full of potato peelings no matter what you do. This might be the time to start composting.) He's had posts on water heaters, electrical panel boxes and many other mysteries of home maintenance and repair that can illuminate your understanding of your shelter and enable you to keep things going sometimes without calling in a professional. Thanks, Bob!