BUSINESS MEMO: ILLINOIS JOBLESS RATE DROPS

Illinois' jobless rate dropped to 4.4 percent in October, down from September's 4.5 percent, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Tuesday.

The nation's unemployment rate remained at 4.6 percent.

Total employment grew by 30,000 to a record 5.9 million, while the number of people looking for work fell 9,200 to 269,385.

In the past 12 months, service industries, with 1.776 million jobs, and manufacturing, with 977,900, employed the most Illinois residents. Employment in construction, services, retail trade, finance, insurance and real estate rose, while manufacturing and mining jobs declined.