STERLING – Throughout the Sauk Valley, jobless rates were down in September from August and from September 2011, according to data released Thursday by Illinois Department of Employment Security.

In Lee, Whiteside, Bureau, Carroll, and Ogle counties, jobless rates were down from August and from last year.

The number of employed people in all five counties also increased from August to September. In Lee, Whiteside, Ogle and Carroll counties, the labor force – the number of people working or looking for work – increased over the month.