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An additional 37,626 Illinoisans filed for unemployment the
week ending July 11, bringing total job losses to 1,458,097 since COVID-19 began
shutting down the state’s economy, according to new data from the U.S.
Department of Labor. Despite a small decline in new initial claims, Illinois has
so far been unable to reduce the number of workers still needing unemployment
checks, even as other states see large drops.
Since the last monthly jobs report, continued unemployment claims in Illinois
are virtually unchanged. All other neighboring states and Midwest states have
seen a substantial decline.
While Illinois claims remain stagnant, Ohio has seen a 47.1% decline in
continued claims, the largest in the region. Illinois is in a distant last
place: the second-worst state in the region, North Dakota, saw continued claims
drop significantly more at -9.9% change from the week ending April 18 through
the week ending July 4.
Lockdowns hurt, as is evident from 1.45 million Illinoisans
filing jobless claims. Most small businesses have less than two months of cash
on hand while the median small enterprise has more than $10,000 in monthly bills
and less than one month of cash on hand. Illinois’ small businesses employ the
majority of Illinois workers. Allowing businesses to open again is an important
step to save lives and livelihoods.
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As new data on COVID-19 emerges, Illinois will have
to adapt to changing circumstances. Still, research shows the
sequential lift of a lockdown is the best way to mitigate both the
human cost of the virus and the economic damage.
Illinois voters need to consider the potential for the COVID-19
economic damage to be magnified by the progressive income tax hike
state leaders are seeking Nov. 3. Economists argue against
increasing taxes during a recession. A progressive tax will increase
taxes up to 47% on more than 100,000 small businesses just as they
are trying to recover from the COVID-19 economic damage. Those small
businesses are responsible for the vast majority of new jobs in
Illinois.
A safe return to work is the first step to bringing Illinoisans back
to work, to tackling growing racial gaps and to reviving the
Illinois economy. A tax increase would be a misstep.
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