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Announcement – Thursday, June 20, 2019
Illinois 3-Month Average Payrolls Up in May - Unemployment Rate Unchanged
For Release - Contact: Sam Salustro | 312-550-1582 mobile 
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6/20/19 - The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that nonfarm payrolls were down -2,400 jobs over-the-month and the unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in May, unchanged from the prior two months, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The April jobs increase was revised downward from the preliminary report (from +20,900 to +18,400 jobs).
Illinois payroll employment has shown variability in the past several months, as has National employment. Average payroll employment growth in Illinois during the March to May three-month period, which provides a more stable measure of payroll employment change, was +3,300 jobs, with the largest gains in Leisure and Hospitality (+1,800), Education and Health Services (+1,300) and Construction (+1,200).
“We continue to see long-term job growth and to build upon that growth this administration is hard at work creating an economy that supports Illinois’ working families,” said Deputy Governor Dan Hynes. “Governor Pritzker signed a bipartisan, balanced budget that makes the critical investments needed to continue this momentum and lift up our middle class.”
“Supporting our local businesses, encouraging new enterprises to move to Illinois and creating earning opportunities for working people are top priorities for this administration. We are encouraged by the continued growth and look forward to continuing to provide the support that businesses and workers need to achieve success.” Erin Guthrie, Acting Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
Over-the-year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +74,700 jobs with the largest gains in these industry sectors in May: Professional and Business Services (+19,400), Education and Health Services (+17,800) and Leisure and Hospitality (+13,100). The industry sectors with over-the-year declines were: Information (-3,600) and Mining (-300). Illinois nonfarm payrolls were up +1.2 percent over-the-year as compared to the nation’s +1.6 percent over-the-year gain in May.
The state’s unemployment rate is +0.8 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for May 2019, which remained at 3.6 percent. The Illinois unemployment rate is up +0.1 percentage point from a year ago when it was 4.3 percent.
The number of unemployed workers decreased from the prior month, -0.5 percent to 285,100, and was up +2.7 percent over the same month for the prior year. The labor force was about unchanged over-the-month and rose +0.3 percentage point over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and are seeking employment.
An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work. To help connect jobseekers to employers who are hiring, IDES’ maintains the state’s largest job search engine, IllinoisJoblink.com (IJL), which recently showed 60,347 posted resumes with 96,869 jobs available.
Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates
| Region | May-19 | Apr-19 | May-18 | 3-Month Moving Average | Over-the-Month Change | Over-the-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Illinois |
4.4% | 4.4% | 4.3% | 4.4% | 0.0 | 0.1 |
|
U.S. |
3.6% | 3.6% | 3.8% | 3.7% | 0.0 | -0.2 |
Illinois Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Jobs – by Major Industry
| Industry | May-19 Current* | Apr-19 Prior Month** | May-18 Year Ago | Over-the-Month | Over-the-Year | 3-Month Moving Avg | Change from Previous 3-Month Moving Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
IL - Total Nonfarm |
6,174,100 | 6,176,500 | 6,099,400 | -2,400 | 74,700 | 6,169,600 | 3,300 |
|
IL - Mining |
7,600 | 7,600 | 7,900 | 0 | -300 | 7,600 | 0 |
|
IL - Construction |
228,300 | 230,300 | 226,400 | -2,000 | 1,900 | 227,300 | 1,200 |
|
IL - Manufacturing |
592,400 | 591,900 | 587,900 | 500 | 4,500 | 592,600 | -400 |
|
IL - Trade, Transportation, and Utilities |
1,222,400 | 1,223,000 | 1,213,500 | -600 | 8,900 | 1,223,400 | -1,700 |
|
IL - Information |
90,100 | 90,700 | 93,700 | -600 | -3,600 | 90,800 | -700 |
|
IL - Financial Activities |
403,800 | 405,100 | 400,300 | -1,300 | 3,500 | 404,400 | 300 |
|
IL - Professional and Business Services |
962,900 | 962,900 | 943,500 | 0 | 19,400 | 961,200 | -400 |
|
IL - Educational and Health Services |
948,700 | 946,600 | 930,900 | 2,100 | 17,800 | 947,100 | 1,300 |
|
IL - Leisure and Hospitality |
629,100 | 630,500 | 616,000 | -1,400 | 13,100 | 628,000 | 1,800 |
|
IL - Other Services |
259,100 | 258,700 | 253,700 | 400 | 5,400 | 258,400 | 1,000 |
|
IL - Government |
829,700 | 829,200 | 825,600 | 500 | 4,100 | 828,800 | 1,000 |
* Preliminary **Final
- 2014-2018 seasonally adjusted labor force data for Illinois, and all other states, have been revised as required by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The monthly historical revisions to state labor force estimates reflect new national benchmark controls, state working-age population controls, seasonal factors, as well as updated total nonfarm jobs and unemployment benefits claims inputs. Illinois labor force data were also smoothed to eliminate large monthly changes as a result of volatility in the monthly Census Population Survey (CPS) and national benchmarking. For these reasons, the comments and tables citing unemployment rates in previous state news releases/materials may no longer be valid.
- Monthly seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for Illinois and the Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metropolitan Division are available here: Illinois & Chicago Metropolitan Area Unemployment Rates
- Monthly 1990-2018 seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment data for Illinois have been revised. To control for potential survey error, the estimates are benchmarked annually to universal counts derived primarily from unemployment insurance tax reports.
- Not seasonally adjusted jobs data with industry detail are available at Not Seasonally Adjusted Jobs. “Other Services” include activities in three broad categories: Personal and laundry; repair and maintenance; and religious, grant making, civic and professional organizations. Seasonally adjusted employment data for subsectors within industries are not available
About IDES : IDES encourages employment by connecting employers to jobseekers, provides unemployment insurance benefits to eligible individuals, produces labor market data and protects taxpayers from unemployment insurance fraud. Visit the Department’s website for more information. You can also follow IDES on Twitter and Facebook.