Illinois loses jobs and falls further behind national unemployment rate

Illinois continues to fall behind the national unemployment average in December, as the Illinois unemployment rate moved to 8.6 percent – nearly two percentage points above the national average of 6.7 percent. The state lost 3,200 nonfarm payroll jobs in December. Illinois’ nonpayroll jobs loss came despite the fact that the U.S. added 70,000 nonfarm...

Illinois continues to fall behind the national unemployment average in December, as the Illinois unemployment rate moved to 8.6 percent – nearly two percentage points above the national average of 6.7 percent. The state lost 3,200 nonfarm payroll jobs in December.

Illinois’ nonpayroll jobs loss came despite the fact that the U.S. added 70,000 nonfarm payroll jobs. The December number shows that the state is clearly moving in the wrong direction.

A year-end unemployment rate of 8.6 percent leaves Illinois with no improvement from a year earlier, in December 2012. Meanwhile the national average fell from 7.9 percent to 6.7 percent during the same time period. Furthermore, from January 2013 through November 2013, 108,889 Illinoisans left the labor force. Tens of thousands of Illinoisans are either giving up looking for work or looking to other states for opportunity.

Reform is clearly needed, and Illinois’ neighbors began their reforms long ago. Illinois needs to lower its taxes, which are ninth-highest in the nation, cut its fourth-highest corporate tax rate and reduce the cost of doing business by cutting the red tape that is chasing jobs and opportunities out of the state.