And Bringing Up the Rear—Illinois

Is it possible for a state’s unemployment to fall and for the number of jobs in the state to decline at the same time? Why yes it is—if the rate at which people are looking for jobs falls faster than the rate of job growth and Illinois is here to tell you how to accomplish that feat:

Illinois’ unemployment rate dropped to 5.8 percent in July as the state added 1,900 non-farm jobs, but its job growth continues to lag other states.

In fact, officials estimate Illinois’ recovery is nearly 2 1/2 years behind the nation’s.

July’s unemployment rate is an improvement from the 6.7 percent in July 2014 and from the 5.9 percent reported in June, though still above the national rate of 5.3 percent, according to monthly data released Thursday by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

Illinois has gained only a quarter of the job growth seen by the rest of the country since the beginning of the year, agency director Jeff Mays said, and he expects the state won’t achieve prerecession job levels until September 2016.

Jim Schultz, director of the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, pointed to company closings in Illinois and said, “We cannot afford to continue down this path.”

What else is going on in Illinois? We’re still without a budget because the state legislature refuses to step up to their constitutional obligations and pass a balanced budget and the governor refuses to sign an unbalanced budget. The legislature has Democratic supermajorities in both houses so they don’t really need him but they don’t have the guts to enact a budget over the governor’s veto.

Illinois already has higher property taxes than the adjoining states and a higher minimum wage than any of the adjoining states.

Chicago has a rock bottom credit rating and is poised on the brink of the largest tax increase in the city’s history—on top of the highest sales tax rate in the nation. The mayor wants a city earnings tax on top of that. It would require the permission of the state and the Illinois legislature has shown no inclination to help the city.

Ain’t we got fun?

1 comment… add one
  • Guarneri Link

    Perhaps because my daughter is college shopping now I hear more of these stories. But IL residents in very significant numbers are just waiting for the kids to finish high school and then it’s adios. This state is a model of the one party, mostly left positions, adored by liberals, and people are voting with their feet.

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