SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced this week that the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.6 percent, while nonfarm payrolls increased by +12,800 in May, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES.
In the press release's fourth paragraph, the reality of Illinois' unemployment numbers is noted. Illinois' unemployment rate was and stays at least 1.0 points above the national average.
Shortly thereafter, the Republican National Committee sent out charts comparing red states with blue ones like Illinois. Red states (with Republican governors) are quickly outpacing employment recovery, charts show. Illinois is in the lower half of national employment stats:
and another:
