At the end of March, the balance in general funds was $294.16 million. The general funds average daily available balance during March was $314.48 million, and the combined funds end-of-month balance was $453.32 million — a big improvement over the general funds balance a year ago of $72 million. However, during the coming two months the state must pay back $150 million in loans. This is a part of the $200 million borrowed from the private sector to shore up general funds in late fiscal 1983 and early 1984; $50 million was paid back in March.

The final statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March was 10.5 percent or 589,000 persons out of work. This was an almost 1 percent increase in unemployment from February, but the rate of lay offs has not increased. Many of the newly unemployed in March were entrants into the job market or workers who had voluntarily left their jobs. The final seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for the state's Standard Metropolitian Statistical Areas were: Bloomington-Normal, 7.5 percent; Champaign-Urbana-Rantoul, 6.8 percent; Chicago, 9.6 percent; Davenport-Rock Island-Moline (Illinois sector), 15.8 percent; Decatur, 12.6 percent; Kankakee, 15.3 percent; Peoria, 14.0 percent; Rockford, 11.4 percent; Springfield, 8.2 percent; East St. Louis (Illinois sector), 12.6 percent.

May 1984/Illinois Issues/35