Since the Great Recession ended, Illinois’ food-stamp enrollment has outpaced job creation by a ratio of nearly 2-to-1. The jobs versus food stamps comparison is a strong indicator of economic hardship. And compared to the rest of the Midwest, Illinoisans are truly feeling the pain. Since the Great Recession ended, Illinois is the only state...

The effects of the Great Recession still linger in Illinois, the pain of which has been distributed unevenly. Youth and minority workers have been hurt most by the state’s ongoing policy errors. The Great Recession caused employment losses across all demographic groups. Illinois’ policy mistakes and weak recovery – the worst in the U.S. –...

More than 1,300 Illinoisans will be laid off in coming months, according to notices filed in accordance with the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN. Among the cuts listed in the August WARN report are 418 jobs lost in conjunction with Hostess Brands’ shuttering of its Twinkie factory in Schiller Park – the...

Minorities have suffered disproportionately under the failed economic policies of Gov. Pat Quinn. From its pre-recession peak through 2013, the black employment rate has plummeted by 7.1 percentage points, more than any other racial group in Illinois. Fewer than half of black adults are employed in Illinois. And the black male employment rate has been...

The unemployment rate fell in all of Illinois’ metropolitan statistical areas in July, according to a press release from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. In fact, unemployment rates have fallen in all metro areas for four consecutive months, which seems like welcome news. But these numbers are only encouraging at face value. As is...

Illinois gained 10,300 jobs in July, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES. The Quinn camp was quick to tout this number as an indicator of the administration’s success. However, by comparison Illinois only created 10,600 net new jobs in first 66 months of Quinn’s tenure. Perhaps the Quinn administration believes that...

Illinois’ unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent from 7.9 percent month-over-month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent household survey. But there’s no reason to celebrate. Payroll jobs shrank by 2,600, with a loss of 5,400 private-sector jobs and an increase of 2,800 government jobs. The decline in the unemployment rate was driven...

When Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign spokesperson, Brooke Anderson, joined host Mike Flannery on Fox Chicago on June 8, she claimed: “Unemployment is at its lowest point in more than five years. More people are working in Illinois today than when the governor took office.” But that’s simply not true. While the unemployment rate in Illinois...

The U.S. jobless rate remained at 6.7 percent in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national jobless measure has not improved for three months. U.S. payrolls picked up 192,000 workers in March, slightly below expectations of 200,000. Employment gains were made in professional and business services (57,000), food and drink services (30,000),...

Illinois’ jobless rate remained stuck at 8.7 percent for the month of February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Illinois remains the only state in the Midwest with a higher jobless rate today than when Gov. Pat Quinn took office. When Quinn took office, the jobless rate was 8 percent. The state gained 6,400...