Bureau of Labor Statistics

Illinois unemployment: politicians living in an alternate reality

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner
12/21/2012
Illinois’ unemployment fell to 8.7 percent in November from 8.8 percent in October, adding 16,400 new payroll jobs. Despite this small decrease in the unemployment rate, Illinois is still a full percentage point above the national unemployment average of 7.7 percent, and 1.6 percentage points higher than the average of its neighboring states. That fact –...

Rahm should focus on jobs first, hype later

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner
11/30/2012
  In his recent op-ed, “How to rebuild America,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel boasts that Chicago’s “investments” in public schools, community colleges and infrastructure improvements have put Chicagoans back to work. Here’s what he said:   “The strength of these investments is proven in the number of people we’re putting back to work: Chicago is first...

Illinois unemployment rate remains stagnant while neighboring states see improvement

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner
11/21/2012
Illinois’ unemployment rate remained at a stagnant 8.8 percent in October, unchanged since September and still far above the national unemployment rate of 7.9 percent. Adding only a paltry 4,800 jobs last month, the state has been stuck in neutral, at best. Illinois’ neighbors, on the other hand, are watching their unemployment rates drop. They’re...

September jobs report — no cause for cheer

By Ted Dabrowski
10/05/2012
US labor report Many analysts are challenging the 0.3 percentage point drop in the nation’s September unemployment rate released this morning by US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS announced the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent from 8.1 percent in August. The unemployment rate, which is now below 8 percent for the first time...

September jobs report

10/05/2012
Today there are 5 million fewer people participating in the labor force than when President Obama took office in January 2009. That

Unemployment increases, but underemployment is even higher

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner
10/02/2012
The nation’s unemployment rate increased to 7.9 percent in October from 7.8 percent in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If that number is a reflection of the country’s anemic recovery, consider the implications of Illinois’ 8.8 percent unemployment rate in September. There are more than 580,000 Illinoisans formally out of work. And these...

Chicago public school teachers are overpaid

By Chris Andriesen
09/11/2012
by Lawrence J. McQuillan, PhD  Chief Economist The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is on strike to get, among other things, more pay. They originally asked for a 30 percent pay raise. The current offer on the table is a 16 percent pay hike over four years. They don’t deserve a penny increase. In fact, they deserve a...