Statewide Payroll Jobs Up, Small Increase in Unemployment Rate Up in June

Contact: Rebecca Cisco | 217.524.1219
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7/15/21 – The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate rose +0.1 percentage point to 7.2 percent, while nonfarm payrolls increased +12,500 in June, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The May monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from -7,900 to +4,300 jobs. The May preliminary unemployment rate was unchanged from the preliminary report, remaining at 7.1 percent.

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

In June, the three industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment were: Leisure and Hospitality (+10,700), Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+3,400), and Construction (+2,100). The industry sectors that reported the largest monthly payroll declines were: Professional and Business Services (-3,700), Manufacturing (-2,500) and Information (-200).

“With the state fully reopening last month, today’s data is promising, and indicative of the larger national recovery process from the economic impacts of a year-plus long pandemic,” said Senior Advisor Andy Manar. “IDES continues to support claimants while providing tools and resources to jobseekers who are eager to reengage with the workforce as industries grow and more jobs become available.”

“Through Governor Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, we have laid the groundwork for a long-term economic recovery by fostering conditions that are safe for residents to commute, access childcare and return to work,” said DCEO Acting Director Sylvia Garcia. “While Illinois has seen incredible progress in restoring jobs and businesses over the past several months, we know that additional economic relief will be essential as we seek to build back stronger from the pandemic. In the coming weeks, the State will begin deploying additional funds made possible by ARPA as part of our ongoing efforts to reach the hardest hit small businesses and communities with economic assistance.”

The state’s unemployment rate was +1.3 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for June, which was 5.9 percent, up +0.1 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was down -7.0 percentage points from a year ago when it was at 14.2 percent.

Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +310,100 jobs, with gains across most major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases were: Leisure and Hospitality (+118,900), Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+61,600) and Professional and Business Services (+47,500). The industry groups with jobs losses were: Manufacturing (-6,500), Mining (-200) and Financial Activities (-100). In June, total nonfarm payrolls were up +5.7 percent over-the-year in both Illinois and the nation.

The number of unemployed workers was up from the prior month, a +1.4 percent increase to 443,500, and was down -50.9 percent over the same month for the prior year. The labor force was up +0.4 percent over-the-month and was down -2.7 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 37,692 posted resumes with 127,884 available jobs.

Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates

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Illinois Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Jobs – by Major Industry

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• 1976-2020 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 Current Population Survey (CPS) and national benchmarking. For these reasons, the comments and tables citing unemployment rates in previous 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.
• Monthly 2016-2020 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 here. “Other Services” include activities in three broad categories: personal and laundry; repair and maintenance; and religious, grant making, civic and professional organizations. Seasonally adjusted data for subsectors within industries are not available.