Unemployed: Only 54,000 Jobs Added in U.S. Last Month

While 6.6 percent of both Morton Grove and Skokie's populations are unemployed, the U.S. job market saw its weakest employment ratings since September, according to Reuters, which analyzed data from the month of May. For Niles, the unemployment rate was higher at 6.7 percent.

Read a story about unemployment in the North suburbs . 

Currently, the unemployment rate is sitting at 9.1 percent. Many experts are citing high gas prices and the after effects of Japan's earthquake as the primary reason behind the slow growth.

According to the Labor Department, non-farm payrolls increased 54,000 last month, with the private employment rising 83,000. Government payrolls dropped 29,000.

To make sense of the data on a local scale, this article is going to show which areas in Illinois have the worst unemployment rates.

The data was collected from the Illinois Department of Labor Security. All numbers presented are from April 2011, which are the latest numbers available.

• Belvidere City had the worst unemployment rate at 14 percent.
• Next to Belvidere City, Chicago-Heights has the second worst unemployment at 13.7 percent.
• Both Morton Grove and Skokie have an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent. Niles is higher at 6.7 percent.
• Highland Park and Wilmette had the lowest unemployment rate at 5.4 percent, followed by Wheaton, 5.8 percent, and then Glenview, 5.9 percent.
• Many areas saw a decrease in employment from March to April. Elgin saw the best increase, dropping from 14 percent in March to 11.4 percent in April.

To view more detailed information, please check out the data by clicking here.

Reaction from Niles Township Food Pantry

On Friday afternoon, Cynthia Carranza, director of the , reflected on the recent unemployment figures.

"In April we’ve seen a huge increase of 200 households needing food, and that was due to the first round of people who lost their jobs when the recession started, who have had their unemployment benefits cut off," she said. "They were too ashamed to come here and were trying very hard to make it on their own."

Carranza noted that most people do not realize the depth of need in the community.

"It’s staggering, absolutely staggering how many people are out of work. It's far beyond what people imagine," she said. "Each day I have several people to get the information to come in for the first time."

With the increasing demand, Carranza sad she is concerned about supplies.

"It has been non-stop since April. It's always been like this but this is dramatic. I cann’t get enough food here," she said.