The Illinois Department of Employment Security announced that Illinois’ unemployment rate in April held steady at 6.0 percent.  The state’s unemployment rate is higher than the national unemployment rate reported for April, which dipped slightly from the prior month to 5.4 percent.  Nonfarm payroll employment gained 4,800 jobs, based on preliminary data released by the Department and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  In April, three industry sectors posted gains in employment, led by Professional and Business Services with 8,200 more jobs and Educational and Health Services with 1,100 more jobs. Three industry sectors with the largest declines in employment were led by Financial Activities with 2,400 fewer jobs.  Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 62,900 jobs.  In April, the unemployment rate stood 1.4 percentage points below the unemployment rate a year ago when it was 7.4 percent.  The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment.  An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.  IDES’ IllinoisJoblink.com program, which helps jobseekers connect with hiring companies, showed that 166,009 help wanted ads were posted in April and 60,837 individuals posted resumes online.  However, many positions continue to remain unfilled.