From Illinois News Network -
Illinois' cities are mostly gaining jobs but have yet to erase the losses of the recession.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security released a more detailed look at the state's unemployment situation. All but one metropolitan area had their unemployment rate drop. However, five of those 14 areas have fewer jobs than they did a year ago.
Many metro areas, especially Chicago, have gained jobs compared to last May, but the rest of the state still lags behind. The Second City gained 24,600 jobs since last May. The state in total gained only 200 more jobs than that.
"We've had modest pockets of job growth downstate, but we're just not seeing any sustainable trends at this time," said Bob Gough, IDES spokesman.
Gough says the biggest cause for alarm right now is the potential loss of countless construction jobs should the Illinois Department of Transportation shut down their projects due to the ongoing budget impasse. The fiscal year ends June 30, and without a budget deal, state construction jobs will be put on hold.
The below-level jobs growth represents a family that isn't spending money in their local area, Gough said.
"They're not going out to eat [out], they're not spending money locally," he said. "If they were going to go get their kids' school clothes, that's certainly not going to happen now too."
Sixty-four of Illinois' 102 counties have unemployment rates above the national average in May, the highest rate being Hardin County in Southern Illinois at 7.8 percent.
The Rockford area saw a large decrease in jobs in May, but that was largely due to a large manufacturing facility taking longer than expected to call back workers.
