Illinois Unemployment Rate Increases

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released May unemployment figures showing Illinois’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is up .1 percent to 8.9 percent in May as compared to 8.8 percent in April. The Chicago metropolitan area experienced a .4 percent increase in the same time frame to 8.9 percent in May, up from 8.5...

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson

This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released May unemployment figures showing Illinois’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is up .1 percent to 8.9 percent in May as compared to 8.8 percent in April. The Chicago metropolitan area experienced a .4 percent increase in the same time frame to 8.9 percent in May, up from 8.5 percent in April. Overall, 24 states had unemployment rates decreases, 13 states experienced unemployment rate increases, and 13 states had no change in their rate.

Illinois has a long history of dismal job growth. Over the last decade, Illinois’s private sector job losswas the 3rd worst in the nation.