[August 16, 2014]
BY BRADY CREMEENS | Special to Watchdog.org
CHICAGO – Gov. Quinn Thursday
announced another Illinois unemployment rate drop, but some
economists say that’s not the whole story.
Illinois’ unemployment rate decreased in July to 6.8 percent, down from 7.1
percent in June, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Illinois’ comeback is going strong and we’ve got more work to do,” Governor
Quinn said in a statement. “Illinois manufacturers are helping to drive our
economy forward by creating good jobs and supporting local communities across
the state.”
The BLS reports that 11,200 new private sector jobs were added in July,
including nearly 4,000 manufacturing jobs.
While the unemployment rate is decreasing, there is evidence to suggest it may
be because more and more Illinoisans are leaving the workforce altogether rather
than a large net increase in job growth.
As INN reported in late July, June saw the single largest monthly workforce loss
in recorded state history. Nearly 22,000 Illinoisans gave up looking for work in
June, a number greater than even the 17,500 who left in 2008 at the height of
the recession. The numbers for July will be released soon.
Gary Burtless, a senior fellow of economic studies at the Brookings Institution
and a former economist with the U.S. Department of Labor, says the unemployment
rate drop is a combination of factors, including labor force depletion.
“While a big drop in unemployment may look good on the outside, we know that’s
not the whole picture,” Burtless said. “The unemployment statistics can only
measure those who are working or actively looking for work. It can’t tell us
anything about those who quit trying.”
Burtless said people usually quit trying to find work out of frustration with
the job market, that they can’t get something satisfactory in a reasonable
period of time.
“Illinois has mirrored the country as a whole in this regard,” he said. “The
rate may technically be going down, but that doesn’t mean more people are
working.”
The rate drop is certainly part of a mixed bag of
economic news this week, as nine companies, including Comcast and
Kraft Food Groups, Inc. have informed the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity that they intend to reduce their
payrolls significantly, a hit that will cost the state nearly 750
jobs this year.
Illinois still boasts the worst jobs record in the
U.S. through the first seven months of 2014, according to the BLS
statistics. The loss of more than 18,000 jobs since January makes
the Land of Lincoln the only Midwestern state to have a net job loss
this year.
The Governor, however, is standing by his record.
“As part of his agenda to drive the state’s economy forward,
Governor Quinn has taken unprecedented steps to support Illinois’
manufacturers, which supports jobs in service industries and sends
Illinois products worldwide,” the governor’s office said in a press
release. “Since taking office in 2009, Governor Quinn has enacted
worker’s compensation reform and unemployment insurance reform to
make Illinois a better place to do business. Other major fiscal
reforms such as pension reform and Medicaid restructuring are
restoring fiscal stability to Illinois.”
The 6.8 percent unemployment rate is the lowest since August 2008.
The rate has dropped 2.4 percent from 9.2 percent since July 2013,
the largest 12 month drop in Illinois since 1984.
“Today’s news that unemployment has dropped to its lowest level in
nearly six years is further proof that we are heading in the right
direction,” the governor said.
Brady Cremeens is a reporter with the Watchdog affiliate, Illinois
News Network.
