Until Illinois lawmakers get serious about economic growth, don’t expect the state’s jobs trend to get off the depressing path it’s been treading for years.

The collar counties were hit hardest by mass layoffs in July.

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.

The U.S. unemployment rate is 4.4 percent, but unemployment varies widely among the nation’s 388 metro areas.

Municipal leaders have expressed concerns about the anti-competitive, job-killing effects of Cook County’s minimum wage increases and new sick leave law and are using home rule authority to exempt their communities from the requirements.

Cook County has lost nearly 50,000 black residents since the 2010 census, and the rate is accelerating.

Illinois is tied for the worst income growth in the entire U.S.

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.