 “For the first time since 2009, Illinois ended a year with fewer jobs than when
we started,” said Jeff Mays, director of the Illinois Department of Employment
Security.
“Even as the nation gained more than 2.6 million jobs in 2015, Illinois lost
3,000,” he said in a Friday news release regarding the December numbers.
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment in Illinois decreased by about 3,000
jobs, IDES analysts said.
Sectors with over-the-year gains in employment included education and health
services with a gain of 6,200 jobs; professional and business services, up 5,400
jobs; and construction, up 5,100.
While several sectors posted over-the-year losses, the biggest tumble was in
manufacturing, which lost 14,000 jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities also
showed a significant loss, about 6,900 jobs.
“Even as people return to the labor force, Illinois continues to lose jobs at a
staggering rate, and statewide unemployment continues to creep up,” said Jim
Schultz, director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity.
“We must make fundamental changes to our state’s business climate to promote
growth and job creation if Illinois is going to become competitive and start
sharing in the growth the rest of the country is enjoying,” Schultz said.
IDES labor market analysts say the state’s average job growth since employment
recovery began in January 2010 remains well below the national average, and
employment will not recover from the 2007-2009 recession until September 2017.
Steve Rauschenberger, president of the Park Ridge-based Technology and
Manufacturing Association, said the numbers are troubling.
“A lot of people believe the United States is poised on being dragged into a
recession by the rest of the world,” he said “But, for Illinois, the most
troubling part is how we’re underperforming the rest of the Midwest and the
nation.
Rauschenberger said a good deal of the blame lies on the state’s tax structure,
particularly its property taxes.
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“We have a property tax system that penalizes job creators,” he
said. “Over time, what that does is drives manufacturers to lower
cost locations.”
“I think Illinois has a big credibility to climb,” Rauschenberger
added. “Even if there were quick reforms, it’s going to take three
to five years to start rebuilding the middle class-producing jobs
that we all want but don’t have the public policy to support.”
“We need reforms now, but we also need to be patient and let
those policies help restore Illinois’ competitiveness to the level
we were at in the ‘90s,” Rauschenberg said.
December’s numbers, which are based on preliminary data from the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, show Illinois lost 16,300 non-farm
jobs for the month, according to IDES.
The state’s unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points, from
5.7 percent to 5.9 percent. Illinois’ unemployment rate continues to
remain above the national rate, which was 5.0 percent for December.
In December, the three industry sectors with the largest gains in
employment were construction, plus 6,700 jobs; manufacturing, plus
500; and government, plus 300.
The four industry sectors with the largest declines in December
employment were trade, transportation and utilities, down 12,100
jobs; professional and business services, down 4,600; educational
and health services, down 2,100; and information, down 2,100.
Illinois is starting to see a bit of improvement in the construction
sector, particularly in the Chicago area, said IDES labor market
information director Evelina Loescher. That, she added, is one area
in which the state has shown continued weakness after the nation
began to recover from the 2007-2009 recession.
However, she noted, negative developments in international
economies, including China’s, continue to hurt Illinois’ heavy
machinery makers, such as Caterpillar.
— Illinois News Network reporter Greg Bishop contributed to this
report.
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