Illinois Payroll Jobs Up Unemployment Rate Down in June

CONTACT: Rebecca Cisco | 217.524.1219
PDF Version

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate is down -0.1 percentage point to 4.0 percent in June, the fourth consecutive monthly decline. Nonfarm payrolls increased by +8,400 in June. Both estimates are based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The May revised unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, unchanged from the preliminary May unemployment rate. The May monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +2,500 to +5,400 jobs. The June unemployment rate and payroll jobs estimate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.

In June, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month job gains included: Educational and Health Services (+5,300), Construction (+2,900), Leisure and Hospitality (+2,900), and Government (+2,900). The industry sectors with monthly payroll job declines included: Professional and Business Services (-5,400), Manufacturing (-2,100), and Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-2,000).

“With six consecutive months of continued gains in payroll jobs, nine consecutive months of an unchanged or decreased statewide unemployment rate, and the lowest the statewide rate has been since the onset of the pandemic, today’s data is clear evidence of success in Illinois’ road to economic recovery and stability,” said Deputy Governor Andy Manar. “Through continued efforts to prioritize investments in workforce development, jobseekers and employers have access to the tools needed to take advantage of the expanding labor market and showcase their talents throughout the state.”

“Illinois is making steady strides with four consecutive months of declining unemployment rates along with a continued increase in payroll jobs in various sectors across the state,” said DCEO Director Kristin Richards. “The State is building on momentum by investing in jobseekers and employers while ensuring Illinois’ working families have the resources and opportunities needed to thrive in a strong economic environment.”

The state’s unemployment rate was +0.4 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate reported for June, tied with May for the smallest difference since February 2020 (pre-pandemic). The national unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in June, down -0.1 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was down -0.4 percentage point from a year ago when it was at 4.4 percent.

Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll jobs increased by +121,100 jobs, with gains across most major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases included: Educational and Health Services (+42,400), Leisure and Hospitality (+33,800) and Government (+31,200). Professional and Business Services (-8,400), Information (-4,200) and Manufacturing (-1,400) reported declines in payroll jobs. In June, total nonfarm payrolls were up +2.0 percent over-the-year in Illinois and up +2.5 percent in the nation.

The number of unemployed workers was 258,100, the lowest level since the onset of the pandemic. The number of unemployed was down -2.7 percent from the prior month, and -9.4 percent over the same month one year ago. The labor force was down -0.2 percent over-the-month and down -0.3 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 June 2020, Governor Pritzker launched Get Hired Illinois, a 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 IllinoisJobLink.com (IJL), the state’s largest job search engine, which recently showed 52,945 posted resumes with 107,760 available jobs.

Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates - See PDF-

Illinois Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Jobs – by Major Industry - See PDF-

• Monthly 2018-2022 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, outlier specifications, 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 June no longer be valid.
• Monthly seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for Illinois and the Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metropolitan Division are available here.
•  Monthly 1990-2022 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.

About the Department of Employment Security

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) provides vital employment services to Illinois workers, jobseekers, and employers with resources including Job Fairs, IllinoisJobLink.com, and WorkShare IL, analyzes and disseminates actionable Labor Market Information, and administers the Unemployment Insurance Program. To see the full range of services provided by IDES, and for the latest news concerning the department, visit IDES.Illinois.gov.

Disclaimer on statewide data: The data contained in the statewide press releases are seasonally adjusted, which eliminates seasonal fluctuations in monthly employment data. Many economic data series have seasonal patterns, which means they tend to occur at the same time each year. For example, construction employment declines in winter, tourism employment rises in summer, and retail employment peaks in January. Seasonal adjustment helps to describe the underlying economic trends in the monthly data. When data are seasonally adjusted, as are the data in this release, the seasonal adjustment permits comparisons of data from one month to the next (February 2023 data compared to January 2023 data).