Illinois Unemployment Rate Drops to 12 Year Low

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) reports 75,000 jobs were added in April, well above the prior three month average.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced yesterday that the unemployment rate decreased by -0.2 percentage point to 4.4 percent in April and non-farm payrolls increased by +4,700 jobs over-the-month, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The March job gain was revised up from its initial report to show a slight gain. (+2,500 jobs versus -2,100 jobs).

In April, the three industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were: Professional and Business Services (+2,700); Manufacturing (+1,600); and Leisure and Hospitality (+1,300). The industry sector with the largest payroll decline was: Government (-1,900).

The state’s unemployment rate is +0.5 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for April 2018, which dropped to 3.9 percent. The Illinois unemployment rate is down -0.5 percentage points from a year ago when it was 4.9 percent. The Illinois jobless rate last stood at 4.4 percent in December 2006.