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 According to WalletHub, the Second City’s unemployment recovery
was among the worst at 9.3% in May. That was roughly a 140% increase from before
the pandemic in January 2020 as well as from this May to May two years earlier.
The report analyzed the nation’s largest cities, plus at least one of the most
populated cities in each state. The study ranked Manchester, New Hampshire, as
the most-recovered with citywide unemployment decreasing 49.62% between May 2019
and May 2020, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Haileah, Florida, recorded the worst overall score after unemployment increased
335.87% in the same period.
The city of Chicago ranked 172nd overall across the four metrics, however, that
standing dropped two places when comparing unemployment recovery specifically
during the pandemic and preceding months. Los Angeles and New York City both
ranked worse than Chicago.
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Aurora was the other Illinois city examined in the study. It
ranked 100 cities better than Chicago at No. 72 overall with a 5.7% unemployment
rate in May.
While Chicago job seekers continued to struggle relative to
residents of other big cities, state lawmakers June 1 passed another $655
million in new taxes on Illinois businesses – and still were unable to balance
the state budget for the 21st year in a row.
A decade ago, Illinois leaders raised taxes at the onset of the recovery from
the Great Recession. Tax hikes coupled with declining government services
resulted in lower investment and sluggish productivity and employment growth,
contributing to the state’s lackluster recovery relative to its peers.
It is hard to believe state leaders would repeat that mistake, but they again
raised taxes on Illinoisans still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Why do
they expect a different result?
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