The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate declined -0.1 percentage points to 4.6 percent in May and nonfarm payrolls increased by +2,400 jobs over-the-month, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. April job growth was revised little to show a decrease of -7,300 jobs rather than the preliminary estimate of -7,200 jobs.
May’s modest monthly payroll gain kept over-the-year job growth well below the national average. Payroll growth has been sluggish thus far this year.
“Illinois remains -23,300 jobs short of reaching its prior peak employment reached in September 2000,” said IDES Director Jeff Mays. “If Illinois had grown at the National average over that time, the State would have an additional 650,000 jobs.”
“We hear from companies every week that are concerned by the current business climate in Illinois,” said Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity Director Sean McCarthy. “We need to implement common sense reforms that would lead to booming job growth and expansion of opportunities across our state.”
In May, the three industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were: Construction (+4,000); Education and Health Services (+3,700); and Information Services (+900). The largest payroll declines were in the following sectors: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-3,700); Government (-2,500); and Professional and Business Services (-700).
Over-the-year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +34,700 jobs with the largest gains in these industry sectors in May: Education and Health Services (+19,200); Professional and Business Services (+13,400); Financial Activities (+9,500). Industry sectors with the largest over-the-year declines include: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-7,700); Manufacturing (-1,800); and Construction (-1,700). The +0.6 percent over-the-year gain in Illinois is less than one-half as strong as the +1.6 percent gain posted by the nation in May.
The state’s unemployment rate is +0.3 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for May 2017, which decreased to 4.3 percent. The Illinois unemployment rate is down -1.3 percentage points from a year ago when it was 5.9 percent. At 4.6 percent, the Illinois jobless rate stands at its lowest level since February 2007, after having decreased for four consecutive months and is down -1.1 percentage points since January 2017.
The number of unemployed workers decreased -2.9 percent from the prior month to 298,100, down -23.0 percent over the same month for the prior year. This brings the number of unemployed workers to its lowest level since December 2006. The labor force decreased -0.3 percent over-the-month and declined by -0.9 percent in May over the prior year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and are seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 1:46 pm:
Two questions for IDES:
How do employers feel about the invisible but all too real “chaos and dysfunctionality tax”?
How many jobs will be lost in the “government” sector as a result of the Governor’s taxing priorities and the “health care” sector when we don’t pay our bills and the providers go out of business?
Me thinks unemployment will go up in both sectors if the Rauner Reform Budget is enacted.
- just tired - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 1:56 pm:
Yes health care jobs are on the verge of collapse. Hospitals have been cutting in needed expansions and equipment to avoid a loss of staff. With that cut back that means less construction jobs.
I am sure Rauner will use this to justify his unwillingness to pass a budget to bust labor unions and his want to drive up interest rates on the bonds his investment companies buy.
- Lucci - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 1:58 pm:
Rich,
Unemployed has dropped by 88,800 (23%) over the year.
However, 56,800 of that is attributable to workforce dropout.
There’s no good news there.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:01 pm:
===workforce dropout===
You ever heard of an aging population?
- Lucci - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:11 pm:
1) If you are correct, do you want IDES to cheer an aging population?
2) You are not correct. You can’t attribute this to an aging population. Every state around us has more people working than before the Great Recession. We have 160,000 fewer. They’re leaving the state.
Can provide data if it would help.
- Rufus - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:17 pm:
“We need to implement common sense reforms that would lead to booming job growth and expansion of opportunities across our state.”
You realize Mr. Mays, you might come off better if you are not a parrot for the Governor’s office.
- My button is broke... - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:19 pm:
So to the “if Illinois would have grown at the national average” line that is used so much. I looked at the numbers (1999-2015 are the numbers I had, and figure they should be ballpark), Illinois did not do good. Almost at the bottom. Above Ohio and Michigan. But much of the top of the list is western states. Of our bordering states, Iowa did the best, ranked 35th. National average was 10.2%, Iowa was at 5.4%. Indiana was 41st at 3.7%. Illinois lost jobs, at 1.1% decrease. So all the states that border us, grew jobs at less than the national average.
Could Illinois have done better? Absolutely.
Could Illinois have grown at the national average? I don’t think so. Seems to me that geography has a lot to do as to where states fall on that list.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:29 pm:
–“Illinois remains -23,300 jobs short of reaching its prior peak employment reached in September 2000,” said IDES Director Jeff Mays.–
Mays needs to show his work. His statement doesn’t match up with published BLS stats.
According to BLS, peak employment in Illinois was November 2007 at 6,344,730.
Number employed in September 2000 (Mays claim of peak employment) was 6,192,354.
Lowest number employed since 2000, in the depth of the Great Recession, was November 2009 at 5,860,548.
Number employed when Rauner took office in January 2015 was 6,086,432.
Number employed in April 2017 was 6,198,437.
Long story short, Illinois employment grew steadily from 1976 (4.8M employed) until a leveling off around 2000 in the 6-6.3 million range.
Below is a nifty BLS interactive tool that allows you to track employment numbers. Just click on the “back data” graphic for whatever information you’re looking for.
https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.il.htm
- Louis Capricious - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:32 pm:
Check out the latest Flash Index, too. The measure reached “its highest level in the past nine months.”
https://igpa.uillinois.edu/report/flash-index-may2017
- Lucci - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:33 pm:
Wordslinger:
Mays is talking about “payroll jobs” from the business survey.
You’re talking about “people working” from the household employment survey.
You’re talking about two different things. Payroll jobs numbers are always rounded off to the nearest hundred, while household employment is not rounded off by BLS.
- train111 - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:33 pm:
Go back to work tomorrow for the first time tomorrow after losing my job to layoff (manufacturing - including engineering tied to it moved to Mexico) last July.
What a long, arduous, and tortured experience. I feel for anyone dealing with un\under employment.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:35 pm:
–“We hear from companies every week that are concerned by the current business climate in Illinois,” said Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity Director Sean McCarthy.–
Really? Because your website is just chock-fulla how its the bee’s knees here for business growth.
- Arock - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:35 pm:
So at 5.4% that would have been roughly 350,000 jobs for Illinois? At 3.7% it would have been about roughly 244,000 jobs? Just think of the tax base increase.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:37 pm:
- Arock -
Term Limits, they’ll do the trick?
- wordslinger - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:38 pm:
–Mays is talking about “payroll jobs” from the business survey.
You’re talking about “people working” from the household employment survey.–
I’m just picking up what BLS is putting down. Peak employment is peak employment, is it not?
- Ron - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:46 pm:
Illinois is bottom of the barrel economically. Downstate is in full melt down mode. If it weren’t for Chicago, the state would be like West Virginai, We need workers comp reform and we really need to cut taxes and state spending. Illinois is near the top in state and local tax burden.
- Ron - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:52 pm:
Lucci is absolutely right. Illinois is losing people and has a shrinking workforce. Not a good way to reduce unemployment, unless those that are leaving are very poor and use a lot of government services. If that’s the case, it may be a positive.
- DeseDemDose - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:24 pm:
Republican “Downstate in full meltdown mode”?
- Ron - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 4:38 pm:
Illinois lost government jobs in May. We need more of that assuming it is state and local jobs.
- NorthsideNoMore - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 6:01 pm:
Retirement /attrition= folks leaving workforce. Companies are not back filling jobs= unemployment numbers dropping like a stone. Same can be said when people give up and jobs leave the once Great State of Illinois. My shop has virtually stopped recruiting in Illinois offices for professional positions and is focused on retaining the under 40 set now. They will bring in upper level mgt from other states when needed. Promotions are a good motivator to move anywhere even Illinois.
- Chicago 20 - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 7:43 pm:
Looks like Rauner’s 25% income tax cut ain’t workin’.
- Ron - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 10:06 pm:
When did Rauner cut taxes?
- Ron - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 10:10 pm:
Northside, downstate is hemorrhaging jobs and people. I’m sure illinois having one of the highest state and local tax burdens. In the nation has nothing to do with it.
- PublicServant - Friday, Jun 16, 17 @ 8:20 am:
===We need to implement common sense reforms that would lead to booming job growth and expansion of opportunities across our state.===
Please elaborate. Oh, and put some figures on paper, or, well, we’ll just consider it bloviation of the worst kind. KthxBye.