Illinois’ 2011 income tax hike put the brakes on the state’s private-sector jobs recovery. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Illinois’ monthly job creation has slowed down since the state’s historic 2011 tax hike. Meanwhile, the rest of the country accelerated its jobs growth. Job losses from the Great Recession began for...

Illinois’ labor force shrank by 17,100 people in July, according to a release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS also reported that the state’s unemployment rate fell to 6.8 percent from 7.1 percent. However, the entire decline in the July unemployment rate came as a result of workers quitting the workforce. This grim news...

U.S. nonfarm payrolls added 208,000 workers in the month of July, against consensus expectations of 230,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national unemployment rate ticked up to 6.2 percent. However, one of the reasons for the increase is that the number of people in the workforce increased. It is healthy for workforce...

In June, Illinois suffered the largest monthly workforce loss in recorded state history. June’s workforce loss was worse than the worst month of the Great Recession. Overall, 21,700 Illinoisans gave up and left the workforce in June; in September 2008, 17,500 Illinoisans quit the workforce. (Bureau of Labor Statistics data go back to 1976.) This...

Employment in Illinois’ metropolitan areas improved in May, but employment growth is still far behind what it should be, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All 10 metropolitan areas saw month-over-month and year-over-year improvement of their unemployment rates. Unfortunately, every Illinois metro area has an unemployment rate above the national average of...

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...

The nation’s unemployment rate remained at 6.3 percent in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest unemployment report. But with 217,000 jobs created, the total number of payroll jobs has finally recovered to its pre-recession level. In other words, the nation is finally back to where it was six years ago. While...

Illinois politicians want to make things worse for the many Chicagoans struggling to find jobs and make ends meet. They’re calling for state, county and local tax hikes on the city that already has one of the worst metro area unemployment rates in the nation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Gov. Pat...

Illinois’ metropolitan statistical areas are a long way from jobs recovery, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The release shows that Danville, Decatur and Rockford are still plagued with double-digit joblessness. All 10 of Illinois’ metro areas have jobless rates above the national average. Despite economic improvement and jobless rates falling nationally,...