by Ben VanMetre CNBC released this week its Top States for Business 2013 index. Illinois dropped 11 notches overall, to 37th from 26th, in just one year. The study scores all 50 states on 51 measures of competitiveness, and the metrics are boiled down to 10 broad categories. Each category is weighted differently. Unfortunately, Illinois ranks...
In the wake of Lebron James’ second-straight NBA title and the end of the professional season, free agents across the league are considering their next moves. Some of the biggest names to enter the free-agent fray include the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dwight Howard and New York Knicks sixth-man, J.R. Smith. As these athletes consider their decision, they’ll...
Allstate Corp. tops the list of Illinois companies planning layoffs, according to a June report from theIllinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or IDCEO. The Northbrook-based insurance company is planning to lay off 348 workers from its Woodridge, Ill., location as part of a restructuring effort to reduce expenses. Under IDCEO’s Illinois Worker Adjustment and...
by Ted Dabrowski and Paul Schumacher Despite Illinois’ improved May unemployment numbers, the state continues to lag the nation in job creation. Illinois has the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation – a position it has held since March. Illinois’ jobless rate dropped to 9.1 percent from 9.3 percent in May, according to the Bureau...
by Paul Schumacher The Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES, announced today that the Illinois unemployment rate declined to 9.1 percent in May from 9.3 percent in April. Illinois’ unemployment rate is still one and a half percentage points above the national average, which rose to 7.6 percent in May. Source: Illinois Department of Employment Security There...
by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner Illinois added nearly three times more people to its food stamp program than it added in jobs over the past year – just another confirmation that the state’s economic model is failing. Between February 2012 and February 2013, Illinois added nearly 200,000 new enrollees to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,...
by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced today that the national unemployment rate rose in May to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent one month earlier. Non-farm private payrolls rose by 175,000. The payroll growth, which has averaged 172,000 over the past 12 months, continues to be significantly below the range needed...
When Corri McFadden thinks about the future and growing her business, it always includes Illinois.
by Paul Schumacher The Illinois Department of Employment Security issues a monthly report on unemployment for veterans. In April 2013, the unemployment rate for all veterans older than 18 was 6.2 percent, down from 7.1 percent in April 2012. Monthly numbers for veteran unemployment are not available, but for 2012 Illinois had a lower veteran unemployment rate...
by Jacob Huebert Jim Nuccio and Gabriel Wiesen are two young entrepreneurs who want to operate their Beavers Coffee & Donuts food truck in Evanston. But one thing stands in their way: a city ordinance that allows only food trucks run by “licensed food establishments,” such as brick-and-mortar restaurants, to operate there. Jim and Gabriel...
The state of Illinois has been experiencing net out-migration for the last decade. That is, the number of people choosing to leave the state is outpacing the number of people moving to Illinois. Illinois had the eighth-lowest population growth in the nation between 2002 and 2012. And compared with its neighbors, Illinois’ population growth is...
by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner Illinois continues to have the nation’s second-worst unemployment rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ April labor report. The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 9.3 percent in April, down from 9.5 percent in March, and is still nearly two percentage points above the 7.5 percent national average. The state’s drop...
The Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES, announced today that the Illinois unemployment rate declined to 9.3 percent in April from 9.5 percent in March. Illinois’ unemployment rate is still nearly two percentage points above the national average, which declined to 7.5 percent in April. Source: Illinois Department of Employment Security The decline in the...
by Ted Dabrowski Food-stamp use rose 2.7% in the U.S. in February from a year earlier, with 15% of the U.S. population receiving benefits. The number of recipients in the food stamp program, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), reached 47.6 million, or nearly one in seven Americans. With more...