Illinois unemployment rate drops, state loses jobs

Posted on October 17, 2015
Employment Application
(Photo courtesy Flickr/Flazingo Photos)

By John Gregory/Illinois Radio Network

CHICAGO – Illinois’ unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent in September, but nearly 7,000 jobs were lost.

Evelina Loescher, labor market information director for the Illinois Department of Employment Security, says while the state’s jobs numbers have improved compared to this time last year, growth has been slow since January.

“We’re up 27,000 (jobs) over the year, but we’ve only gained 2,200 jobs since the beginning of this year, so the job growth this year has been very, very modest,” Loescher said.

In September, the government sector saw the biggest gain with 2,100 jobs added, while the largest decline was in the Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector, which shed 6,400 jobs.

Based on the slower growth this year, IDES is pushing back its forecast for when Illinois employment levels will have fully recovered from the 2007-2009 recession to April 2017

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