Illinois’ 15 metro areas all see unemployment higher than U.S. rate

By Ravi Mishra, Jon Josko

07/03/2024

Despite some growth, high unemployment remains an issue in Illinois. All 15 metropolitan areas showed higher rates of unemployment than the national average.

TAGS: employment

Illinois’ declining labor force participation rate explains stubborn poverty rate

By Chris Coffey

06/26/2024

Data shows Illinoisans who would have been working a generation ago are not today.

TAGS: BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment

Utah makes life easier for job seekers; Illinois can, too

By Chris Coffey

06/21/2024

Utah consolidated and integrated government job and social services into a one-stop shop. Illinois can follow that example and efficiently pull more people out of poverty and into the working world.

TAGS: employment

Only 1 Illinois metro area has recovered COVID-19 job losses

By Bryce Hill

08/26/2022

Illinois’ lagging pandemic recovery continued across its cities in July. Only 1 metropolitan area has recovered from the pandemic.

TAGS: employment, jobs, unemployment

Illinois still missing 1 in 7 jobs lost during pandemic

By Bryce Hill

08/01/2022

With the highest unemployment rate in the Midwest and 117,000 jobs still missing, Illinois’ labor market is among the least recovered in the region.

TAGS: coronavirus, COVID-19, economic recovery, employment, job creation, jobs

U.S. Steel to shed up to 1,000 Southern Illinois jobs

By Bryce Hill

07/06/2022

U.S. Steel is cutting up to 1,000 jobs and selling parts of its Granite City plant. The move comes as Madison County employment remains down over 5,600 jobs since the pandemic.

TAGS: employment, Granite City, jobs, Madison County, United States Steel Corp.

8 Illinois metro areas fail to add jobs in April; just 1 recovers from pandemic

06/17/2022

Illinois’ overall job numbers continue to rise, but the recovery is spotty. Over half of the metropolitan areas failed to add jobs in April.

TAGS: coronavirus, COVID-19, employment, job creation, jobs

Illinois adds jobs in April, still missing 146,300 from pandemic

06/15/2022

Illinois’ employment recovery continued in April, but the state is still missing almost one in five jobs lost during the pandemic.

TAGS: COVID-19, employment, jobs, unemployment

Illinois 3rd-most regulated state in U.S.

By Bryce Hill, Jim Royal

02/09/2022

Illinois has the nation’s third-highest number of state regulations and double the U.S. average. Regulations make life hard for Illinois’ small businesses, where most Illinois jobs are created.

TAGS: employment, Illinois, regulations, small business

Before COVID-19 downturn, Illinois saw shrinking payrolls and nation’s worst loss of manufacturing jobs

By Bryce Hill

03/31/2020

New data show Illinois lost private sector jobs amid a national economic expansion for the first year on record in 2019, a sign of the state’s deep structural problems in the run-up to the current market downturn.

TAGS: BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, coronavirus, COVID-19, economic growth, employment, jobs, labor force participation rate, unemployment