IDES offices closed Monday to observe Labor Day

Customers should certify; services available on Internet

[August 30, 2013]  CHICAGO -- Illinois Department of Employment Security offices will be closed Monday in observance of Labor Day. All services are available on the IDES website. Claimants scheduled to certify are encouraged to use the Internet. Regular office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. will resume Tuesday.

Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September. The labor movement created the tribute to honor the economic and social achievements that the American worker brought to our nation. The first celebration was in 1882 in New York City. The day was a Tuesday. The holiday moved to Monday in 1884. Although there are conflicting reports that the holiday began either with the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners or with the International Association of Machinists, there is agreement that the Central Labor Union was responsible for the initial demonstration and picnic.

Municipal ordinances first recognized the day in 1885. New York was the first state to propose legislation creating the holiday, but Oregon was the first to enact a law, in 1887. Illinois created the holiday in 1891. In 1894, Congress established the first Monday in September to be the legal holiday. In 1909, the American Federation of Labor declared the Sunday before Labor Day as Labor Sunday to recognize the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

Although IDES offices will be closed, services are available at www.ides.illinois.gov. People can file for first-time unemployment benefits; certify for benefits, which is necessary to receive payment; and switch that method of payment to direct deposit. Because Monday is a federal banking holiday, the availability of some benefit payments might be delayed. The IDES does not determine federal banking holidays.

There are 100,000 help-wanted ads on Illinoisjoblink.com, the IDES employment website that links job seekers with employers. This no-cost career resource allows individuals to create multiple resumes that emphasize different talents and allows businesses to search for specific skills. The keyword-matching technology increases the likelihood of a successful new hire. Illinois JobLink emphasizes Illinois jobs, scrapes other commercial job boards and compares favorably with private efforts that cost hundreds of dollars for a single advertisement.

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