PRESS RELEASE from the
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE

MEDIA CONTACT: Melanie Krakauer (312) 607-4977

One year of COVID-19: Women, working mothers, Black workers hit hardest by economic downfall 
Illinois’ 2020 job losses worse than 67% of Midwestern states

CHICAGO (Feb. 2, 2021) — In just over a year since the COVID-19 virus first arrived in Illinois, new analysis shows Illinois workers were hurt worse by the economic downfall than the average U.S. worker.

CHICAGO (Feb. 2, 2021) — In just over a year since the COVID-19 virus first arrived in Illinois, new analysis shows Illinois workers were hurt worse by the economic downfall than the average U.S. worker.

Analysis from the Illinois Policy Institute found Black non-Hispanic workers in Illinois were 53% more likely to lose their jobs than Black workers in other states during the pandemic. Hispanic and white workers were 26% and 27%, respectively, more likely to lose their jobs in Illinois.

The largest group to drop out of the workforce in 2020 were working mothers. The effect was substantial in Illinois: 4.5% of Illinois’ women with children gave up looking for jobs, compared with 3.6% nationally.

One reason Illinois was hit harder than most was because it was in worse shape than most before COVID-19 hit, according to the Institute.

Illinois saw worse employment situations during COVID-19:

• COVID-19 made it more difficult for racial minorities to find employment, despite being better educated and living closer to jobs. Black Illinois workers were 47% more likely to lose their jobs than white Illinoisans.
• Employment losses were more severe for both Illinois men and women compared to the national average. Female employment in Illinois declined by 15.1% in 2020, while female employment nationally declined by 11.8%, substantially less. Male employment fell 8% in Illinois compared with only 6% nationally.

Illinois’ economy lagged the Midwest and nation before the pandemic:

• During the past 20 years, the rest of the Midwest grew 22% faster than Illinois’ economy. That led Illinoisans to suffer worse outcomes during the pandemic; the state saw job losses that were worse than 67% of Midwestern states.
• Illinois’ economy has grown at a much slower rate than the rest of the nation. If Illinois had kept pace with the national average, the economy would be $154 billion larger – enough to have prevented some recent tax hikes.

Bryce Hill, senior research analyst at the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute, offered the following statement: 

“COVID-19 made things worse for all workers. But Illinois was uniquely unprepared for the downfall that followed the pandemic. A combination of falling public investments into core government services, alongside higher income and property taxes, raised the cost of life in Illinois. That led to slower state economic growth during the past two decades.

“Although a win against COVID-19 will help Illinois’ struggling economy, it will not fix the damage done by decades of fiscal mismanagement and corruption in Springfield. To help Illinois’ economy come roaring back to life, Illinois must pursue solutions that free up resources for investing into communities and fixing racial disparities. A constitutional pension amendment would do just that by freeing up billions of dollars for future state budgets.”

To read more about the state of the state’s economy, visit illini.is/unprepared.

For bookings or interviews, contact media@illinoispolicy.org or (312) 607-4977.