Statewide Unemployment Rate Down, Jobs Up in March 2021

Contact: Rebecca Cisco | 217.524.1219
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The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate decreased -0.3 percentage point to 7.1 percent, while nonfarm payrolls were up +32,200 jobs in March, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The February monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, rising from +21,100 to +37,300 jobs. The February unemployment rate was unchanged from the preliminary report, remaining at 7.4 percent.

The March payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflects activity for the week including the 12th. The BLS has published FAQs for the March payroll jobs and the unemployment rate.

In March, the three industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment were: Leisure and Hospitality (+13,700), Construction (+6,300) and Professional and Business Services (+6,300). The industry sectors that reported monthly payroll declines were: Government (-2,600), Financial Activities (-700) and Information (-200).

“Today’s data is a positive step in the right direction in restoring the workforce a year after the COVID-19 pandemic devastated state and national economies and left thousands jobless,” said Deputy Governor Dan Hynes. “While there is still more work to recover from the effects of this virus, the Pritzker administration remains fully committed to supporting claimants and dislocated workers and getting our economy back on track.”

“Deliberate actions taken by the State to protect and support our residents, businesses and communities during the pandemic are continuing to pay off as Illinois has recorded back-to-back improvements in 2021 reducing unemployment and bringing jobs back to our communities,” said Sylvia Garcia, Acting Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). “With strong indications that the Illinois economy is turning a new corner, Governor Pritzker’s administration will continue to bring forward investments needed to support job creation, economic recovery and enable a safe environment for workers and consumers to return with confidence."

The state’s unemployment rate was +1.1 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for March, which was 6.0 percent, down -0.2 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was up +3.4 percentage points from a year ago when it was 3.7 percent.

Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll employment decreased by -360,700 jobs, with losses across all major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs decreases were: Leisure and Hospitality (-145,300), Educational and Health Services (-54,300) and Government (-46,400). Illinois nonfarm payrolls were down -5.9 percent over-the-year as compared to the nation’s -4.5 percent over-the-year decline in March.

The number of unemployed workers fell from the prior month, a -4.0 percent decrease to 436,400, and was up +85.2 percent over the same month for the prior year. The labor force was down -0.1 percent over-the-month and down -3.4 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.

In May 2020, Governor Pritzker launched Get Hired Illinois, a new one-stop-shop website to help connect job seekers with hiring employers in real time. The site features virtual job fairs, no-cost virtual training, and includes Illinois Job Link (IJL), the state’s largest job search engine, which recently showed 40,360 posted resumes with 112,641 available jobs.