by Ted Dabrowski and Paul Schumacher Despite Illinois’ improved May unemployment numbers, the state continues to lag the nation in job creation. Illinois has the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation – a position it has held since March. Illinois’ jobless rate dropped to 9.1 percent from 9.3 percent in May, according to the Bureau...

by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner Illinois added nearly three times more people to its food stamp program than it added in jobs over the past year – just another confirmation that the state’s economic model is failing. Between February 2012 and February 2013, Illinois added nearly 200,000 new enrollees to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,...

by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner Illinois continues to have the nation’s second-worst unemployment rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ April labor report. The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 9.3 percent in April, down from 9.5 percent in March, and is still nearly two percentage points above the 7.5 percent national average. The state’s drop...

by Ted Dabrowski Illinois has the nation’s second-worst unemployment rate. At 9.5 percent, it’s two percentage points higher than the national average of 7.5 percent. That gap translates into lost opportunities and struggle for the many Illinoisans who wish to be gainfully employed. Nearly 130,000 more Illinoisans could be working today if Illinois employed people at the...

by Ted Dabrowski Illinois politicians can’t hide from their decade-long policy failures. Jobs are scarce, as evidenced by the state’s 9.5 percent unemployment rate. That’s second worst in the nation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s finances are in shambles and Illinois now pays the highest penalty rate for borrowing when compared to other states....

Ted Dabrowski John Klingner The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced today that the national unemployment rate declined to 7.5 percent in April from 7.6 percent in March. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 165,000 in April, up from a revised 138,000 payroll jobs in March. source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics This amount of job creation...

The US economy created only 88,000 jobs in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The market was expecting approximately 200,000 new payroll jobs.

The latest BLS unemployment release once again highlights how poorly Illinois is faring compared with its neighbors and the nation as a whole. Illinois’ January unemployment rate jumped to 9 percent, a 0.4 percent increase over December’s rate. Illinois now has the seventh-highest unemployment rate in the nation, with nearly 600,000 Illinoisans unemployed. Meanwhile, the...

In his budget address on Wednesday, Gov. Quinn touted the number of jobs that have been created during the past two years. The governor would have you believe that Illinois’ job crisis is over. But that’s far from the truth. As today’s labor release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows, Illinois’ unemployment rate jumped...

Another 35,000 added to unemployment in February