Illinois unemployment rate drops to 6.1 percent
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From IDES…
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that Illinois’ unemployment rate in January decreased 0.1 percentage points to 6.1 percent. The state’s unemployment rate is slightly higher than the national unemployment rate reported for January at 5.7 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment, however, shed -7,100 jobs, based on preliminary data released by the Department and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. A person who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits will still be reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.
In January, three industry sectors posted large gains in employment: Leisure and Hospitality (+3,300); Educational and Health Services (+2,300); and Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+1,600). Four industry sectors reported large declines in employment: Professional and Business Services (-5,500); Government (-2,700); Construction (-2,500); and Manufacturing (-2,100).
“While a month-to-month decrease in nonfarm payrolls is not unusual, it’s clear Illinois has more work to do to catch up with other states,” said Director Jeffrey Mays. “Our economy is simply not yet firing on all cylinders.”
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +65,000 jobs with the largest gains in Professional and Business Services (+16,700); Educational and Health Services (+15,200); and Construction (+11,100). One sector posted a decline in January over the prior year: Financial Activities (-1,400).
The continuing manufacturing losses are worrisome. The government sector losses could increase if state funding starts drying up.
* Check out this part of the Illinois Policy Institute’s react…
Some economic sectors such as education and hospitality added jobs in January, however, the business-services, construction and manufacturing sectors saw job losses. […]
These sectors lost jobs from December 2014 to January 2015:
Professional and business services: lost 5,500 jobs
Construction: lost 2,500 jobs
Manufacturing: lost 2,100 jobs
Notice something missing? Government job loss totals, even though they were the second highest on the list. But admitting that fact would screw up the meme.
- exbricklayer - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 2:49 pm:
==Notice something missing? Government job loss totals==
That’s because we’re sub-human leeches that don’t count, just ask our new ‘Overnor.
- dupage dan - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 2:50 pm:
We’ll grow our way out of the pension mess!
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 2:54 pm:
IPI humor:
Q: what do you call a month that sees a decline of 2,700 government jobs?
A: A good start.
- JC - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 2:57 pm:
The job gains are all in the Governor’s Office
- Demoralized - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 3:04 pm:
==Notice something missing? Government job loss==
The second largest job loss total. And they just “missed” that one. There’s a reason that the IPI isn’t getting any press credentials.
- Precinct Captain - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 3:07 pm:
Is Bruce going to pull a Mitch McConnell and claim credit?
- Gabe - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 3:07 pm:
I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that construction jobs are always lost heading into January. Another bold prediction- construction employment will go up in the summer. IPI at its finest.
- Ghost of George Pullman - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 3:08 pm:
Job creation has picked up in the past 12 months, and the economy has been growing at its fastest clip in more than a decade. One area that has yet to improve, though, is wages. Decades of stagnant pay is costing Illinois and municipalities much needed tax revenue.
http://goo.gl/LFjswb
- JS Mill - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 3:10 pm:
There will be a decline in Education (March is when the layoffs happens and have already started). I am not sure how these statistics are reported but, if it is based on unemployment claims those will not hit until June.
- Anonymiss - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 3:30 pm:
Damn you, Obama!
- Arizona Bob - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 3:39 pm:
My guess is that the education numbers were low compared to the health portion of the statistic. Teacher hiring is usually very low at tis time of year. I wonder if there’s a statistic for public sector workers who retire or are riffed, then start up as “consultants” or some other outsourced. It’s questionable whether leaving a riffed job then being hired for the same job responsibilities through a private, subcontracting firm counts as a “job created”.
- WhoKnew - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 3:45 pm:
- exbricklayer -
Just what we need!
An Overnor to run our Overment!
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 4:32 pm:
Of all states, in 2013-2014, Illinois had the largest average unemployment rate decease. In no way are we in the emergency the far right wing says we’re in, that we need to implement right to work zones. Stagnant wages should indicate that we need to put upward pressure on wages and benefits, or at least not push them down. Everything about right to work is wrong for Illinois. Let’s please discard this idea. Thanks.
- Emily Miller - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 4:39 pm:
Facts are so inconvenient these days.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 4:46 pm:
47th, well played sir!
- Quiet Sage - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 5:31 pm:
Government, construction, and manufacturing, which all suffered losses, are the high paying sectors of the economy.
- Highly Dubious - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 5:32 pm:
So the books are now closed on Pat Quinn’s tenure, during which the Illinois unemployment rate declined from 11.4% to 6.1%, a reduction of almost 50%. Somehow I doubt that Governor One Percent will come close to matching that record, but I’m sure we’ll hear plenty about how he’s making Illinois friendly for fellow one percenters once again.
- CapnCrunch - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 6:14 pm:
Figures from the Department of Labor and the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that between 2003 and 2013 right to work states created a net 3.6 million private sector jobs, saw wages increase by 15.1% and manufacturing GDP grow by 26.1%. The other 26 states added only 1.5 million jobs, saw wages rise by just 8.2% and manufacturing GDP increased by 13.8%.
“Facts are so inconvenient these days.”
- The Dude Abides - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 7:18 pm:
Lies, damn lies and statistics. There are more than a few studies out there on this Capn and some of them are in conflict with each other. State A, which is right to work, may have a faster growing economy than state B, which is non RTW. There are so many factors at work which could contribute to accelerating economic development that its difficult to prove that RTW is the primary explanation for the economic growth.
I looked up the top 10 states with the fastest growing economies and I used the year 2013 as it was the most recent year I could find. Five of those states were RTW and five weren’t.
Believe what you want Capn but the jury is still out on your “facts”.
- Precinct Captain - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 8:35 pm:
==- CapnCrunch - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 6:14 pm:==
Where are your statistics actually coming from?
https://www.wmc.org/issues/righttowork
Which sources to an anti-union group, which can’t even keep its own numbers straight.
http://www.nilrr.org/2014/03/27/2003-3013-real-private-sector-compensation-growth-right-work-states-nearly-twice-great-forced-unionism-states/
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 8:50 pm:
“Figures from the Department of Labor and the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that between 2003 and 2013 right to work states created a net 3.6 million private sector jobs, saw wages increase by 15.1% and manufacturing GDP grow by 26.1%. The other 26 states added only 1.5 million jobs, saw wages rise by just 8.2% and manufacturing GDP increased by 13.8%.”
The vast majority of states above the U.S. median household income and per capita income averages are full union states. The majority of states below the U.S. median household/per capita income averages are right to work states. States with higher unionization rates mostly have higher income than states with lower unionization rates.
Right to work won’t make the states at the bottom surpass the states at the top. Tennessee and Louisiana will not surpass Minnesota and Washington any time soon. Alaska is rocking with high unionization rates and median incomes.
- CapnCrunch - Thursday, Mar 12, 15 @ 9:43 pm:
“Where are your statistics actually coming from?”
The Economist 3/7/2015. The -Dude- is right that many factors affect economic development but if the trend continues for the next 10-15 years, wage parity would occur.
Speaking of trends-
GE Aviation has opened 7 new facilities in the U.S. in the last several years and only one, in Ohio, wasn’t in a RTW state. These facilities support more than 2,500 new U.S. jobs.
Airbus is expected to start production of its A320 models this year at a new plant in Mobile, Alabama that will provide 1000 jobs.
Volkswagon announced last year that they would spend $900 million to add an SUV production line to the Chattanooga plant that will add 2,000 new jobs.
Last April Toyota announced that it was moving U.S. corporate headquarters from California to Texas to locate senior management (4,000) closer to Toyota factories. Toyota has factories in Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, Indiana, West Virginia and Alabama.
A year ago BMW announced a $1 billion expansion of its South Carolina plant that will make it BMW’s biggest factory in the world. Plant capacity will expand from about 300,000 to 450,000 vehicles by the end of 2016. Employment will increase from 8,000 to 8,800.
Last January Mercedes announced that it would move corporate headquarters from Montvale, New Jersey to Atlanta, Georgia. About 1000 jobs are involved.
Daimler plans to spend $500 million to build a Mercedes-Benz van factory in South Carolina. The new plant will employ about 1300 workers.
- Anonymous - Friday, Mar 13, 15 @ 8:47 am:
In the meantime a local company, Nelch Concrete, almost 120 years old just closed. I saw Glenn Brunk I believe near the bridge on 6th st is also closing. Those businesses are the “foundation of our city”.