* Press release…

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate fell -0.4 percentage point to 5.3 percent, while nonfarm payrolls increased by +22,800 in December, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The preliminary report for November monthly payrolls was revised from +19,500 to +19,900 jobs. The November unemployment rate was unchanged from the preliminary report, remaining at 5.7 percent.

The December payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflects activity for the week including the 12th. The BLS has published FAQs for the December payroll jobs and the unemployment rate.

In December, the three industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment were: Professional and Business Services (+9,400), Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+8,500), and Leisure and Hospitality (+2,200). The industry sectors that reported monthly payroll declines were: Financial Activities (-1,800), Educational and Health Services (-300), and Government (-100). […]

The state’s unemployment rate was +1.4 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for December, which was 3.9 percent, down -0.3 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was down -2.7 percentage points from a year ago when it was at 8.0 percent.

Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +262,600 jobs, with gains across nearly all major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases were: Leisure and Hospitality (+126,000), Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+48,300), and Professional and Business Services (+28,600). Financial Activities (-5,000) was the only industry group that reported jobs losses. In December, total nonfarm payrolls were up +4.7 percent over-the-year in Illinois and up +4.5 percent in the nation.

The number of unemployed workers was down from the prior month, a -6.0 percent decrease to 333,100, and was down -32.1 percent over the same month for one year ago. The labor force was up +0.5 percent over-the-month and up +2.0 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.

Leisure & Hospitality numbers for this month probably won’t be pretty, what with omicron and the complete lack of additional federal and state assistance for laid-off workers, parents of school kids and slammed businesses.

* Related…

* Merchandise Mart owner plans another massive reboot as tech tenants migrate to Fulton Market: A $60 million-plus makeover of the mammoth structure will test the ability of older downtown buildings to compete with new hotspots in an office market transformed by COVID.

*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…

The growth rate for jobs in our state has more than doubled the national growth rate in the past quarter – and tripled it in the last month. Hard #’s & sources below.

• IL gained 23,200 jobs in December (+0.39%), and gained a total of 84,700 jobs during the fourth quarter of CY 2021 (+1.46%).
• This growth roughly doubled that experienced by the US as a whole (+0.13% for December and +0.74% for Q4).
• IL accounted for 7.7% of US job growth during the fourth quarter, compared to its 3.9% share of the population.