Illinois loses 1,782 jobs, with 390 layoffs at Chicago job search firms Monster, CareerBuilder

Illinois saw 1,782 mass layoffs in June. Two merged Chicago job search firms, Monster and CareerBuilder, is sending 390 workers searching for new jobs.

Illinois lost 1,782 jobs in June through mass layoffs, including 390 jobs at two Chicago firms that help people find jobs.

CareerBuilder LLC and Monster Worldwide LLC is laying off 390 workers on Aug. 4 as it prepares to close its Chicago headquarters. The two web job search firms merged in 2024.

Two food processing firms also announced layoffs in June. Momence Packing Co. cut 274 workers at its meat processing facility and Tyson Warehousing in Rochelle was sold, leading to 259 layoffs.

Layoffs are not necessarily a barometer for a troubled job market, but they are not necessarily signs of a healthy one, either. Illinois leaders could do a lot to improve the state’s business climate.

Some good places to start would be: reducing Illinois’ nation-leading state and local tax burden, beginning with its No. 2-in-the-nation average property tax rate; lowering its third-highest corporate income taxes; and lowering the state’s 8.65% maximum unemployment insurance tax rate.