By Michel Lucci / Illinois Policy Institute -
Illinois gained 1,900 payroll jobs in the month of July, according to Thursday’s economic release from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The jobs growth was driven by gains in government employment.
The increase in payroll jobs was led by a gain of 2,600 government jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’, or BLS, business establishment survey. Several other industrial sectors reported gains, including: leisure and hospitality (+2,400); construction (+2,000); financial activities (+1,200); trade, transportation and utilities (+300); and other services (+100). Unusually heavy job losses occurred in professional and business services (-5,300); and other losses came from manufacturing (-600); education and health services (-600); information (-100) and mining (-100). Illinois lost manufacturing jobs for six out of the first seven months of 2015; June was the only month in which Illinois gained manufacturing jobs.
Illinois’ unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent from 5.9 percent as the workforce shrank by 1,800 workers, according to the BLS household survey. Specifically, unemployment dropped by 8,900 while employment rose by 6,900, indicating that the decline in the July unemployment rate was due both to some unemployed workers finding employment as well as to other unemployed workers dropping out of the workforce.
In the month of July, six major Illinois manufacturers announced that they were either completely or partially shutting down operations and laying off workers, or leaving the Land of Lincoln.
More HERE
