Prairie State Wire

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) has reported a rise in nonfarm payrolls by 8,800 jobs and a decrease in the unemployment rate to 5.2% for December. This data, provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and released by IDES, also revised November's job figures from a decrease of 3,400 to 5,400, while the unemployment rate remained at 5.3%.

In December, significant job growth was observed in sectors such as Financial Activities with an increase of 2,900 jobs, Private Education and Health Services adding 2,600 jobs, and Government with an addition of 2,000 jobs. Conversely, Professional and Business Services saw a reduction of 2,100 jobs and Other Services decreased by 1,000 jobs.

Deputy Governor Andy Manar stated that "IDES and its workforce development partners are committed to ensuring everyone has the tools and resources they need to find professional opportunities." He emphasized the state's focus on workforce investments that support growth beneficial to both jobseekers and employers.

DCEO Director Kristin Richards added that "our commitment to strategically investing in the state's workforce is essential to ensuring all Illinoisans have access to good-paying jobs."

Illinois' unemployment rate stands at 1.1 percentage points higher than the national average of 4.1% for December. Compared to last year’s figures when it was at 4.7%, this marks an increase of half a percentage point.

Over the past year, nonfarm payrolls in Illinois increased by 56,000 jobs with Government leading gains at +32,100 positions followed by Private Education and Health Services (+26,600) and Other Services (+9,900). Meanwhile, Professional and Business Services saw a decline of -16,200 jobs along with Manufacturing (-6,900) and Financial Activities (-4,100).

The number of unemployed individuals totaled 340,400 in December which is down by -1.7% from November but up +11.8% compared to December last year. The labor force showed slight growth over-the-month (+0.1%) as well as over-the-year (+1.2%).

IDES continues its efforts to connect jobseekers with potential employers through various initiatives including job fairs and maintaining Illinois JobLink (IJL), which currently lists over 75 thousand available positions.