Illinois January Jobless Rate Higher

The Illinois January jobless rate rose from December to 6.3%, although nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 1,500.

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, according to Illinois Department of Employment Security analysts. The nation is currently 3.5% above its prior peak level of employment.

"While the country as a whole has emerged from the recession, Illinois has not been a part of this recovery," Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Jim Schultz said. "Unemployment continues to rise, and industries such as manufacturing continue to lose thousands of jobs. We need to create a business climate that promotes growth and job creation in order to regain the thousands of jobs lost in the recession, and put Illinois on the path of full economic recovery."

The state's unemployment rate is higher than the national rate reported for January, which dipped to 4.9%. In January, the state unemployment rate stood 0.3% above the unemployment rate a year ago, when it was 6.0%. The number of unemployed workers increased 3% from the prior month to 412,600 and was up 5.9% over the same month in 2015.

The two industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were Trade, Transportation and Utilities (3,600) and Educational and Health Services (3,200). The three industry sectors with the largest declines in employment were Government (-2,600), Other Services (-2,100) and Financial Activities (-1,700).

Manufacturing jobs in Illinois declined by 6,300 from January 2015 to January 2016.