State Jobless Rate Jumps 1.2% in March

After months of lower jobless rates compared to one year earlier, the Illinois unemployment rate for March jumped 1.2%, to 4.6%.

Nonfarm payrolls lost 34,100 jobs during the month.

The February figures originally showed a loss of 200 jobs statewide. That figure has been revised to a loss of 11,400 jobs.

The 4.6% jobless rate in Illinois for March compares to the national rate of 4.4%. 

The biggest losses compared to a year ago were in Professional and Business Services, Manufacturing, and Leisure and Hospitality.

The numbers for April are projected to be as bad, or worse. The Illinois Department of Employment Security released new statewide data Thursday showing the department processed over 141,000 new initial unemployment claims for the week ending April 11. As of March 1, the department has processed more than 650,000 initial unemployment claims, 12 times more than the number of claims over the corresponding time period last year. It's also five times greater than the amount processed during the first six weeks of the Great Recession.