•March 16, 2016•

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that Illinois’ unemployment rate in January rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.3 percent and nonfarm payroll jobs increased by +1,500, based on data released by IDES and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Illinois’ average job growth since employment recovery began in January 2010 remains significantly below the national average, and employment will not recover from the 2007-2009 recession until May 2016, according to IDES labor market analysts. The nation is currently 3.5 percent above its prior peak level of employment.

“When you compare job growth to most other states across the nation, Illinois has persistently lagged the national growth rate throughout the recovery period,” said Jeff Mays, Director, IDES. “Even with the upward revision to the 2015 jobs figures, we went from no growth to very low growth. At the same time, the nation grew twice as fast.”     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.