The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced last week that the state’s unemployment rate fell -0.1 percentage point to 4.5%, while nonfarm payrolls increased by +14,300 in January.
In a Thursday, March 9, news release IDES said the findings were based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The January data reflects activity for the week of Jan. 12.
The department also revised its December monthly change in payrolls jobs – from its preliminary report of down 800 jobs to down 4,800 jobs. The revised unemployment rate for December was 4.6%, down -0.1 point from the preliminary 4.7%.
In January, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment included: government (+7,900), leisure and hospitality (+6,300), and educational and health services (+1,900). Sectors with monthly payroll declines included: information (-900), professional and business services (-900), trade, transportation and utilities (-500), and other services (-500).
“Today’s data is an encouraging start to the new year as Illinois’ recovery continues to trend in the right direction statewide,” Deputy Governor Andy Manar said in the IDES release. “IDES remains committed to assisting job seekers and employers with the resources they need to find new, expanded opportunities to participate in the state’s labor market.”
The state’s unemployment rate was +1.1 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate of 3.4% reported for January. The Illinois unemployment rate was down -0.3 percentage point from a year ago when it was at 4.8%.
The number of unemployed workers was 294,300, down 10% from the prior month, and down 4.7% over the same month one year ago. The labor force was almost unchanged (0.0 percent) over-the-month and over-the-year.
“While working to bolster economic development across the state, Illinois continues to make steady progress with decreased unemployment rates and increased job growth,” Kristin Richards, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) acting director, said in the release. “DCEO will remain a steadfast partner for Illinoisans by investing in workforce development while attracting and retaining the businesses that fuel our state’s economy.”
Through Get Hired Illinois, the state offers a one-stop-shop website to help connect job seekers with hiring employers in real time. The site features virtual job fairs, no-cost virtual training, and includes IllinoisJobLink.com (IJL), the state’s largest job search engine, which recently showed 54,356 posted resumes with 126,692 available jobs.
