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New U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the hard times
left upward of 300,000 residents looking for work by the end of
2025, leaving roughly 1.4 workers competing for every job and
making Illinois home to the seventh highest such ratio in the
country.
“If you don't focus on having a pro-growth economy and a
pro-growth yield code and a pro-growth fiscal structure, then
you're not going grow,” Bandoch told The Center Square. “You're
going to see businesses not grow as much here as they grow
elsewhere and you’re going to see that gap widen. You're going
to see other places seem more appealing than Illinois. We can
make different choices to create more opportunity, to create
more jobs and create more growth.”
With Illinois’ workforce shrinking by nearly 109,000 over a
yearlong period ending in December 2025 and the state’s labor
force participation rate recently falling to 63.6, Bandoch
worries the situation shows few signs of getting better anytime
soon.
“Part of what's driving this is a challenging business
environment, especially in Chicago, that’s obviously a big
driver of the Illinois economy” Bandoch said. “Businesses in
Illinois are just highly regulated. Illinois is the fourth most
regulated state and it has more than double the number of
regulations on business or individuals in its legal code and it
has more than eight times as many as the least regulated state.
Over time that just catches up with you, catches up with
businesses and individuals who want to create value and open
businesses.”
Bandoch points to the state’s lingering outmigration issues and
warns even more residents may be primed to leave if the state
resists in making some of the kind of wholesale policy changes
he feels are called for.
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