Is the Nation slowing Illinois’ job growth?

by Emily Dietrich Is the national economy really at fault for Illinois’ poor jobs market? The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) released the September numbers on Illinois’ jobs market yesterday. The report was titled: “National Slowdown Impacts Illinois’ Economy.” This report comes on the heels of their August report, titled: “Stagnant National Growth Squeezes Illinois Labor Market.”...

by Emily Dietrich

Is the national economy really at fault for Illinois’ poor jobs market?

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) released the September numbers on Illinois’ jobs market yesterday. The report was titled: “National Slowdown Impacts Illinois’ Economy.” This report comes on the heels of their August report, titled: “Stagnant National Growth Squeezes Illinois Labor Market.”

In September, the unemployment rate increased to 10 percent as 10,500 more Illinoisans were added to the unemployment rolls. The month’s anemic job creation of 1,600 jobs amounts to 1 job for every 415 unemployed persons living in the state. The Institute of Government and Public Affairs estimated that in order for the state’s jobs market to recover in 5 years, Illinois would have to add 100,700 jobs per year. This month’s job creation is woefully inadequate.

September’s snapshot of Illinois’ jobs market is unflattering. But what’s the state’s employment record over a longer time period? IDES repeatedly points to January 2010 as their measure of Illinois’ job growth. But a look at job creation since the end of the national recession, June 2009, is more appropriate. How does Illinois stack up when compared to other states in the nation?

Not well. Any way you slice it, Illinois’ jobs market is bleak at best.

The first graph below indexes Illinois’ job growth compared to the five states with highest job growth rates since the national recession ended. As Illinois should aspire to lead the country in job growth, this graph shows the unfortunate truth: Illinois is nowhere near the leaders of job growth. If Illinois is blaming the last two months of sluggish growth on the national economy, what accounts for its poor post-recession performance?

The second graph compares Illinois to surrounding states in the Midwest. Illinois competes with these states on a daily basis: fighting for citizens, businesses, and capital. Because the geographic regions are similar, this competition takes place through the public policies the state enacts.

Since the end of the recession, Illinois has not led in job growth. Instead, the index of job growth indicates that Illinois lags all other states except Missouri.

To make matters worse, projections for Illinois’ job creation remain equally flat. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published a report ranking states by expected job creation through 2017. Illinois ranked in the second to last category. Even with Illinois’ slow job growth and hopes for a rebound, WSJ projects Illinois’ growth to remain poor into the future.

After looking at the data, Illinois cannot blame its sluggish economy on the nation. Illinois has lagged the national economy in terms of jobs growth since the end of the recession and posts higher unemployment rates.

Illinois policy-makers have to take responsibility for the failed public policies that have hampered job creation in the state and dis-incentivized growth. Illinois’ culture of spending, borrowing, and deficits has fueled this jobs crisis and now the state must enact fiscal discipline and pro-growth solutions to drive its way out.