Illinois June unemployment rate down, private jobs up

[July 16, 2010]  CHICAGO -- The Illinois seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped 0.4 point to 10.4 percent in June, according to data released Thursday by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The drop matches the April-to-May decrease and remains the largest decline since October 1983. Nine thousand new jobs in the private sector offset the expected loss of temporary census positions. As a result, overall job growth in Illinois was flat while nationally it was down. Illinois payroll employment is up 59,600 jobs so far this year, with the overwhelming majority of that job growth in the private sector.

"The best gauge of our economic well-being will be found in long-term trends, not monthly reports. Those long-term trends reflect cautious optimism among employers and job seekers," said Maureen O'Donnell, director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security. "We must expect that an economic rebound following the deepest national recession in generations will include up-and-down movements in the jobs and unemployment rate."

The manufacturing sector added 1,600 jobs in June. That job growth represents the fourth consecutive monthly gain in manufacturing, which has not happened since 1995. Construction added 3,400 in June. That is the largest monthly gain since the onset of the national recession in December 2007. Educational and health services added jobs 700 for the sixth consecutive month.

The unemployment rate's three-month moving average decreased 0.4 to 10.8 percent, its second consecutive monthly decline.

While expiring census jobs created flat job growth for Illinois (down 200), the expiring census positions created a loss on the national scale. Nationally, the country lost 125,000 jobs in June despite adding 83,000 in the private sector.

So far this year, Illinois' economy has grown by 1.1 percent; the national economy has grown by 0.7 percent.

The unemployment rate is not the same measure as those collecting unemployment benefits. The unemployment rate identifies those who are out of work and seeking employment. Workers collecting benefits are counted separately. People who exhaust their unemployment benefits or are ineligible would still be reflected in the unemployment rate if they are seeking employment.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security administers federally funded employment services and unemployment insurance through its nearly 60 offices, including the Illinois workNet Centers. IDES also receives federal grants to provide and analyze labor market statistics and information.

(See tables: Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates; and Illinois Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Jobs – by Major Industry)

[Text from Illinois Department of Employment Security file received from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]