Sears Holdings has dropped below the job threshold necessary to qualify for the $15 million in annual state tax credits for which it was once eligible.

March 2017 saw 15,000 more Illinoisans on food stamps than March 2016, while the number of Indiana SNAP recipients dropped from March 2016 to March 2017.

New Bureau of Labor Statistics data show Illinois’ black residents have an unemployment rate of 12.7 percent, more than double the state’s overall rate.

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.

A new survey from Harris Poll for Express Employment Professionals shows that nearly half of unemployed people in Illinois have given up looking for work.

Illinois still has 144,000 fewer people working compared with the state’s pre-recession employment level, while surrounding states have all experienced employment growth.

Cook and Lake counties had the greatest number of mass layoffs in April 2017, with most of the jobs lost coming from the service and hospitality sectors.

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.

Insurance premiums cost 20 percent of payroll for concrete construction workers in Illinois.