Jobs + Growth

Decline in food stamp benefits no excuse for losing focus on job creation

This month, the more than 2 million Illinoisans currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will see a cut to their monthly food stamp benefits. An Illinois family of three will see their benefits decrease about $29. Currently, the average Illinois household receives $285 a month in benefits. The cut in benefits is due...

By John Klingner

11.3 million Americans remained unemployed in September

After nearly a month’s delay due to the federal government’s shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced yesterday that the national unemployment rate edged down in September to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent one month earlier. Overall, 11.3 million Americans remain unemployed. The U-6 unemployment rate, which includes all workers who are unemployed or underemployed,...

By John Klingner

1 in 6 Illinoisans dependent on food stamps

The number of Illinoisans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, remained above 2 million in July. This is the 10th month in a row enrollment has exceeded 2 million, or one-sixth of Illinoisans. And the number of Illinoisans who seem permanently stuck on government assistance is growing larger. Illinois puts more people...

By John Klingner

Illinois’ unemployment rate stalled at 9.2 percent

The delay in unemployment reports due to the federal government shutdown has not changed Illinois’ overall gloomy jobs picture. Unemployment is still high in many cities across the state. According to the latest seasonally adjusted unemployment numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, half of Illinois’ Metropolitan Statistical Areas, or MSAs, had unemployment rates...

By John Klingner

Disappearance of Illinois’ manufacturing sector

It’s hard not to notice the disappearance of Illinois’ manufacturing sector. Anyone driving through the outskirts of Peoria can witness the closed buildings and half-abandoned neighborhoods. Cities all across Illinois have seen a similar story unfold. Illinois’ manufacturing base has been in decline, losing over 130,000 manufacturing jobs in the past decade. Even during the...

By Justin Hegy

Disappearance of Illinois’ manufacturing sector

By Justin Hegy

Illinois’ ‘weak management practices’ land it low on Forbes’ list of best states for business

Forbes released this week its Best States for Business 2013 index. Illinois held onto its 2012 rank of the 38th-best state for business. The study scores all 50 states using 35 data points that are boiled down to six main categories. Illinois’ ranks generally fall in the mid-to high-30s out of the 50 states, with the exception its...

By Benjamin VanMetre

Capital City CrossFit is breaking the status quo

The story of two entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo in Illinois and nurturing a stronger business environment.

By Jackson Adams

Illinois: nation’s 2nd-highest unemployment rate for sixth straight month

ix months ago, Illinois overtook California to become the state with the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation, behind only Nevada. It hasn’t budged since. Today’s release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics details yet another month of stalled unemployment numbers for Illinois. The state’s August unemployment rate remained at 9.2 percent – 1.9 percentage...

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

Illinois August unemployment rate remains stalled at 9.2%

Tomorrow, Illinois is likely to celebrate its six-month anniversary of having the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation. That’s when the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, releases its Regional and State Employment and Unemployment report for August. In the meantime, the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES, pre-released some of the BLS data...

By John Klingner

Illinois and Chicago riddled with bad economic policy

Illinois and Chicago are riddled with many regulations, laws and licensing requirements that are unnecessary and anti-growth in nature. Politicians often claim to pass these laws in pursuit of a favorable business climate; but the result is often the opposite. Illinois’ economy is struggling. The state has the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation at 9.2...

By Justin Hegy

Pizza with a purpose

Dimitri has found that investing in good people makes the difference in an industry where the customer experience matters.

By Hilary Gowins

More than 2 million Illinoisans dependent on food stamps

The total number of Illinoisans on food stamps increased to nearly 2.15 million in June. One-sixth of Illinoisans, or 16.7 percent, are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. More than 100,000 people were added to the SNAP rolls in June. This is an artificially high number resulting from disaster-response programs deployed in...

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

Part-time America: National unemployment rate edges down to 7.3 in August

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced today that the national unemployment rate edged down in August to 7.3 percent, down from 7.4 percent one month earlier. Non-farm payroll employment rose by 169,000. Unemployment decreased by 193,000, leaving the total number of unemployed Americans at 11.3 million in August. But there are many Americans suffering from...

By John Klingner