Illinois sees 1,023 mass layoffs, over half from business closures
Illinois companies announced 1,023 mass layoffs in April, with more than half from business closures. One-fifth of Illinois job cuts resulted from a lost contract to manage McCormick Place in Chicago.
Illinois companies announced 1,023 mass layoffs during April, with one-fifth of those by an entertainment and recreation company managing the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago.
Of the 1,023 Illinois mass layoffs, 302 hit Chicago after four companies cut workers, including Acero Charter Schools Inc. Layoffs at Oak View Group were attributed to the loss of a venue management contract for McCormick Place.
The second-highest number of layoffs was at Elkay Plumbing Products Co. in Savanna, Illinois. The manufacturing company announced it was cutting jobs for 135 staff members and closing its Savanna factory, where it made water coolers, water fountains and faucets.
More than one-third of the mass layoffs announced statewide impacted workers in Cook County, with an additional 161 job cuts hitting the collar counties. The remaining 495 were spread across the state.
Business closures accounted for 533 of the Illinois job losses, more than half of the mass layoffs with an event type reported in April. Operational layoffs impacted an additional 467 workers. The most common reason employers provided for the mass layoffs were lost contracts.
Employer reporting showed about 98% of the mass layoffs will be permanent.
Illinois employers are required to file monthly mass layoff reports under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act if they have 75 or more full-time employees. While the reports serve as a gauge of job trends, they are not necessarily a reliable indicator of broader economic health.
Illinois’ 4.8% unemployment rate in March exceeded the national average of 4.2%. That unemployment rate translates into 321,000 Illinoisans looking for work, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Illinois state leaders could do a lot to make Illinois more attractive to businesses and workers. 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.