Illinois Jobless Rate Better in October

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate dipped by 0.1 percentage points to 4.9 percent in October and nonfarm payrolls increased by +3,400 jobs over-the-month, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. September job growth was revised up to show a smaller decline (-7,900 jobs) than initially reported (-10,800 jobs).

October’s monthly payroll drop kept over-the-year job growth well below the national average. While Illinois job growth has had its ups and downs since the beginning of the year, the 3-month trend shows average declines of -2,300 jobs per month from August to October, while the six-month trend shows an increase of +1,900 average monthly job gains from May to October. Both the 3-month and the 6-month changes are better than reported last month.

“Month-to-month changes sometimes obscure important trends.” said IDES Director Jeff Mays. “Illinois’ unemployment rate remained at 5.0 percent or lower for eight months – the last time that happened was in mid-2007.”

“The Department continues to see a steady flow of interest from businesses to relocate and grow in Illinois,” said Illinois Department of Commerce Director Sean McCarthy. “With our world-class assets, Illinois should be leading the pack not lagging behind the national average. We’re seeing results and winning projects, but we still have work to do.”

In October, the three industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were: Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+2,800); Education and Health Services (+2,200); and Manufacturing (+1,600). The three industry sectors with the largest payroll declines were: Government (-1,800); Construction (-1,100) and Information (-600).