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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A new state report that Illinois coal once shunned for its high sulfur content is enjoying record demand overseas.

The Illinois Office of Coal Development said Wednesday that the report it had done by Energy Ventures Analysis Inc. showed that 13 million tons of Illinois coal was exported last year. That's a five-fold increase from the 2.5 million tons shipped out of the U.S. in 2010.

Officials attribute the increase to the state's wealth of coal, competitive pricing and Illinois' proximity to shipping routes including the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

Total Illinois coal output rose 25 percent to 47.2 million tons in 2012, up from 37.8 million tons in 2011.

The Office of Coal Development is a division of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The St. Louis area unemployment rate still sits above seven percent--at 7.5 %--but there is good news in the latest set of job numbers.

The number of jobs in the area has increased over last year. Some of the sectors that showed the largest gains were trade, education, and health services. While the area with the greatest number of losses was the government.

In total, there are 2,300 more jobs in March 2013 compared to March 2012.

POTOSI, Mo. (AP) - A mistrial has been declared in the first-degree murder case of an eastern Missouri man accused of killing his son-in-law.

The Park Hills Daily Journal reports jurors deliberated for several hours Tuesday before telling the judge they wouldn't be able to reach a unanimous verdict in the case of 47-year-old Martin Gorse of Cadet. The judge declared a mistrial and the case will be retried.

Gorse is accused of killing 31-year-old Ronald Coleman Jr. last year at Gorse's home. Gorse testified that he and Coleman argued. He claimed he shot the younger man in self-defense.