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IL unemployment rises for second straight month

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Illinois

* Oy…

Illinois’ unemployment spiked for a second straight month in February, hitting 9.5 percent. But state officials say the increase is at least in part to increasing numbers of people who have started looking for work again.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security said the rate sharply rose to 9.5 percent in February from 9 percent in January. National unemployment fell to 7.7 percent in February.

* However, the Illinois Department of Employment Security explains the numbers…

Illinois added 12,400 jobs in February, continuing a three-year pattern of job growth that has intensified in the past seven months. Job growth has encouraged more people to look for work, especially those who gave up during the recession. Their re-entry into the labor force pushed the February unemployment rate to 9.5 percent, according to preliminary data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). Data is seasonally adjusted.

“This is the counter-intuitive part of an economic recovery. If job creation is picking up, how can unemployment be picking up as well?” IDES Director Jay Rowell said. “Job growth gives workers who previously gave up their job search hope that they, too, will be hired. As such, they re-energize their work search, jump back into the labor force and push up the unemployment rate.” […]

Illinois businesses are hiring. More than 100,000 help-wanted ads are on Illinoisjoblink.com, the IDES employment website that links job seekers with employers. Keyword matching technology increases the likelihood of a successful new hire and compares favorably to private efforts that cost hundreds of dollars.

* Chart…

Discuss.

* Related…

* Push for fracking bill delayed by surprise amendment

* Fracking Debate in Carbondale

* Kay’s workers’ comp bills receive testimony, no vote

* Bill to modernize Illinois electric grid heads to Quinn’s desk

* Illinois House passes ComEd’s $70 million annual rate hike

* General Assembly backs Ameren’s bid for new ICC hearing on rate hikes

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 9:31 am

Comments

Our state is broken. I love this line “But state officials say the increase is at least in part to increasing numbers of people who have started looking for work again”

yeah, It may be right. But they are fine to take credit when the % DROPS when people STOP looking for work. Can’t have it both ways unless you have a lapdog reporter.

We are broken, and spending money on roads… well we dont have any money. We have to pay back a ton of money just to get to broke. We need to get more business here. We need to encourage NEW business not just hang onto an existing business with our fingertips.

If we really want to be able to do the things we do in this state and improve on them (our social programs, mental health, etc) we ahve to have a private secotr that can pay for it. When the private sector continues to have smaller growth than the needs of government you get detroit or California. Illinois is always right there in sentences with Cali. Do we really want that?

Comment by RonOglesby Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 9:38 am
Interesting to see Government hiring up for the month but down for the year. Had the state’s budget crisis not lead to public sector cuts, I wonder what the employment picture would look like.

Comment by Empty Chair Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 9:41 am
Could part of the reason for both job creation and unemployment increasing be that many of the jobs don’t provide sufficient hours or income to make a difference in the newly employed person’s continued eligibility for unemployment?

Comment by Anon Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 9:48 am
@EmptyChair
Its down 300 for the year. I doubt the state could hire enough to make a dent. We also have to realize that if the goal is simply to have 0% unemployment government hiring isnt the answer. Even if we approved the hiring of enough people ot bring the state down to 5% (assuming we just made them dig holes and refill them) that money would ahve to come from the private secotr in taxes. Thus reducing money spent there, etc, etc.

Are you suggesting the number would be better if gov was still hiring like days of old (in the boom times)?

Comment by RonOglesby Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 9:49 am
Hard to buy the spin.

Illinois is a mature economy. Constant productivity increases mean fewer workers.

The state needs a spark with new growth industries.

Fracking seems to be going forward.

And I’d suggest it’s time to bring marijuana into the legitimate economy.

If you can get through the paywall, “Fortune” is out with an article on the billions to be made with legal marijuana.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 9:50 am
Anon,
it depends on how they are counting. Often UNDER employed is not counted in UNEMPLOYED. Actually you can see in stats times that people have left full time jobs (laid off, etc) and then taken a part time job or even 2 part time jobs. They are no longer considered unemployed. And in the case of 2 jobs held by one person in some stats that is counted as 2 jobs created…

Comment by RonOglesby Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 9:52 am
Word,

“The state needs a spark with new growth industries.

Fracking seems to be going forward.

And I’d suggest it’s time to bring marijuana into the legitimate economy.
”

Yes. Fracking, legal MJ, I would even say any other types of energy we want/cant exploit (not subsidize, but use). Of course I would liek to see the state focus on loosening rules and removing red tape for new manufacturing. Shipping is expensive from overseas. People who build things would love to find a friendly environment here in the states (Right in the MIDDLE OF THE STATES!)

Comment by RonOglesby Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 9:54 am
Does chicago still have the head tax on each employee at a company?

Comment by Really? Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 9:56 am
- find a friendly environment here in the states -

It’s never been about the red tape, it’s mainly been about the extremely low workforce cost outside the US.

However, manufacturing is coming back largely because of cheaper energy.

Illinois has made smart investments in expanding broadband internet availability, transportation infrastructure, and utility infrastructure that will make us more competitive as well. Also, UIUC’s partnership in creating the Illinois Manufacturing Lab will provide significant resources for startups.

All in all I’d say we’re positioned prety well for new manufacturing.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 10:15 am
Manufacturing jobs for low-margin products are moving from China for a number of reasons, but Mexico seems to be the destination.

We’re not going to compete with Mexico on wages or regulation, nor should we.

Precision manufacturing for high-margin products is doing well, but, again, American productivity is through the roof compared to most counties. More efficiencies, fewer workers.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 10:19 am
The focus of the discussion seems a bit off.

A more relevant discussion might be how Illinois compares to other states.

When you look at those numbers, you find that Illinois consistently has worse numbers than other states.

And that’s why a few of us think we really need a major change of direction in 2014. I’m at the point where I don’t know of anybody who has been in office who deserves to go back. We need to start over with some new people.

Comment by Skeeter Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 10:20 am
STL, I would like to see some of that pay off. Broadband doesnt really move a business it. I have run or been the next to top guy at 4 small businesses in the last 15 years and my last thought was broadband.

Is labor more expensive here in the US? yes.But forieng labor is not as good as us for high quality smaller quantity items. And offset labor costs with shipping costs. Have you ever had a container of your product shipped form Shanghai? I have …. not cheap, but sometimes cheaper than paying expenses for realestate taxes, head count taxes, workers comp, EPA fees, Legal fees fighting to setup my shop, etc.

If you dont think redtape slows down growth you dont work in manufacturing, product development or assembly.

Look at Magpul in Colorado. They could build those things in China but keep them high quality and assemble them all in Colorado (at least for a while). We wont get Ford or GE building a huge new plant here. we need to be the Mecca of those places that start with 30 or 40 or 100 people. Generally these are run by one or two people that dont have lobbiests or teams of lawyers to work the ILGA for them.

I have a friend who just left Illinois to start hsi business in Houston. He setup shop (once he found the building) with the government in 2 days… 2 days! all legal, new business and permits in 2 days to start moving in his equipment to build medical devices (some stint or something, I dont understand). He didnt do it here, we should be asking WHY?

Comment by RonOglesby Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 10:24 am
@Skeeter

Dead on. Moving the argument to focus on Mexico or China is silly. Where do we compare to other states and how do we emulate what the successful states are doing.

Comment by RonOglesby Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 10:27 am
The old U-3 U-6 discussion.

Comment by Cincinnatus Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 10:46 am
So much for the sequester’s “devastating” impact on our state economy. Perhaps those results will seep through next month. Or the month after that.

Or perhaps we can chalk these new jobs up to the Governor’s bold vision to create ninety bazillion new jobs as referenced the other day. He’ll certainly claim credit since “job creation is picking up”.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 10:50 am
I’m eyeing the growth in professional and business service jobs, and thinking to myself we should be taxing that sector if that is where the growth is.

Comment by Willie Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 10:57 am
“Play it again, Sam.”

We heard a similar refrain while our unemployment rate moved from 9.3 in March 2011 to 10.1 in July 2011.

Illinois also added jobs during that time. We went from 5,660,700 Total Nonfarm Payroll jobs in March 2011 to 5,682,600 in July 2011.

“It’s a sign more people are entering the workforce and looking for jobs.”

Obviously our burgeoning recovery is healthy and progressing as planned.

Good news all around, ladies and gentlemen.

Full speed ahead. Nothing but sunshine and blue skies from here on out.

Okaaay.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 11:03 am
Willie,
yes we need more taxes. Tax the sector that is growing because go forbid the income taxes and sales taxes on things all those people with jobs isnt enough.

Simple, tax anything you get less of it. The simple asnwer isnt just tax. At what point does your tax slow one of the few grwoth areas in illinois.

Comment by RonOglesby Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 11:13 am
- If you dont think redtape slows down growth you dont work in manufacturing, product development or assembly. -

I never said that, I said it wasn’t the primary reason manufacturing left the US.

Also, high speed communications might not be a big deal in your business, but it’s very important to many startups these days. It also levels the playing field for downstate communities that didn’t have the same availability as big cities.

But go on singing the same old song about taxes and red tape, I never get tired of hearing it.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 11:21 am
=== extremely low workforce cost outside the US ===

Sounds like a perfect time to increas our minimum wage. Let’s see if a few job losses in the service sector can’t offset our gains in the manufacturing sector.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 11:29 am
In a nutshell, by someone who will be called a nutcase, I am sure. I have hired mfg people over the years at minimum wage. It is a starting salary to see if they can do the job or ever learn it. It is not meant to be a “living” wage. That is earned through performancen and experience.
If I sell block for $1, it is because the customer is willing to pay a $1. My material is .30/ea and labor, sga, overhead, burden, taxes,etc are .65/ea, that leaves me .05 (5%) profit, which gets taxed and is supposed to provide me with capital to expand. Now we just raised the minimum wage. My customer is not paying more for something he can buy elsewhere for $1 and I am left with less and less margin on my sales. There is no perfect time to increase min wage. it eveb hurts the taxing bodies because there is less income to tax….bad idea all around.

Comment by LisleMike Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 11:56 am
STL

Comment by RonOglesby Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 12:01 pm
=I’m eyeing the growth in professional and business service jobs, and thinking to myself we should be taxing that sector if that is where the growth is.= Willie

Willie, the problem is that if you tax it won’t grow. It will go elsewhere. Sometime I hope liberals will learn if you want to increase something, subsidize it. If you want to decrease something, tax it.

Relatively low tax rates on upper incomes, serivces and e-commerce is just about the only attractiove thing about Illinois these days. Tax that, and it’ll all move to Texas and Florida, along with the professionals that work in it.

Keep up with this attitude and before long you’ll just have public employees and welfare recipients here, kinda like Detroit.

=All in all I’d say we’re positioned pretty well for new manufacturing.=STL

Now the only obstacles are a Workmans Comps scm several times the cost of competing states, a higher than avearge minimum wage so that hiring low skill workers is overly costly, and punishing real estate tax market to pay for excessive and rapidly rising school salaries and benefits, an out of control murder rate because corrupt politicans won’t make sufficient effort to crush the gangs, and a culture of political that’s led to the biggest unfunded pension liability and lowest credit rating in the nation.

As a final kicker, we have perhaps the worst, and most relatively expensive, major city public school system in the nation which just gave out raises it couldn’t afford despite a BILLION DOLLAR deficit because public employee unions are ovrly empowered by Springfield.

Yep, manufacturers certainly want ot come here instead of Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina and Florida!

Comment by Palos Park Bob Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 12:03 pm
- It will go elsewhere. -

The service sector will go elsewhere? Can you explain the mechanics of that?

Generally they need clients, so I’m not sure how mobile they are.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 12:33 pm
**Willie, the problem is that if you tax it won’t grow. **

Really? You really believe that?

Do you realize how many things there are that are taxed, and still grow?

Comment by dave Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 12:51 pm
How about looking over here at the Illinois Food Stamp Caseloads that grew 9.1% over the last twelve months instead of the oh-so fabulous 1.1% so-called job creation rate?

How about that steady growth since 2000 We’re up to 2,051,286 people on Food Stamps as of Dec 2012 (latest report)!

Poverty in Illions is growing faster than job creation. About 50% of Chicago’s school childen families are considered low income and Chicago itself has a BELOW poverty rate of 25% or one in four people.

Comment by anon Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 4:22 pm
…that’s “scheduleDDDDD” from last Comment…!

Comment by Just The Way It Is One Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 5:21 pm
I just want to thank John Bradley for spiking his own fracking legislation this week in order to featherbed unqualified union operating engineers. Who needs 50,000 jobs.

I say unqualified because just how many Illinois licensed water well drillers have any experience in 1) digging mile-deep wells, and 2) horizontal drilling once they’re down a mile or so?

If fracking is as dangerous as opponents say, wouldn’t you want the best qualified people do to the drilling? That wouldn’t be Illinois drillers because we haven’t done this before in Illinois.

Comment by Downstate Illinois Friday, Mar 22, 13 @ 6:10 pm