Illinois’ August metro jobs report came amid long-term trends of sluggish jobs growth.

Illinois will need more foreign investment, and major reforms to the state’s business climate, in order to get off the weak economic path it now treads.

The state’s August jobs numbers were poor across the board, but especially sobering for manufacturing.

Illinois’ jobs growth over the past year was 40 percent slower than the national average, and lagged even further behind the average of neighboring states.

Illinois’ June jobs data show 4,300 more Illinoisans are unemployed and the state’s labor force is down 20,400 people.

Illinois has been lagging behind the rest of the region over the last decade, and will continue to do so if the state doesn’t enact necessary economic reforms.

A new report from the Illinois Department of Employment Security shows Illinois had a modest net gain of 2,400 jobs in May, but still has fewer jobs today than before the Great Recession began.

Illinois still has 25,600 fewer jobs compared with the year 2000. Illinois is one of the only states in the country to have fewer jobs today than at the turn of the century.

Illinois saw a 0.23 percent increase in jobs in the first quarter of 2017, the third-worst growth rate in the region.

Illinois lost jobs across several industries including construction, manufacturing, and professional and business services. The only employment category to see significant growth was leisure and hospitality.