The state also saw a drop in the unemployment rate, but it wasn’t because people found jobs.

While Illinois outperformed the nation in terms of monthly employment growth for the first time since September 2017, Illinois payrolls have only increased half as fast as the rest of the nation in the past year.

Despite healthy jobs growth nationally, Illinoisans are desperate for work.

New state data shed a light on weak economic growth in metro areas across Illinois.

Decatur is the fastest-shrinking city in the state since 2010, and saw some of the heaviest jobs losses among metro areas in 2017.

The Land of Lincoln is experiencing weak employment growth and a workforce dropout problem.

Illinois’ tepid jobs growth has come disproportionately in the Chicago area.

A positive jobs report for October does little to buck discouraging long-term trends in Illinois.

The September metro jobs report follows statewide numbers that showed one of the worst months for payroll jobs since the Great Recession.

Illinois lost 10,800 jobs on net over the month, and the state continues to experience labor force dropout.