SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — After reaching a high of 17.2% in April, the Illinois unemployment rate has fallen for the third consecutive month.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced Thursday that the unemployment rate fell to 11.3% in July after being 14.5% in the month of June.
The unemployment rate in Illinois remains higher than the national unemployment rate, which sits at 10.2%.
Traditionally, the Illinois unemployment rate is higher than the national average, said IDES Public Information Officer Sam Salustro.
He also said that the job growth in Illinois has remained steady over the last three months.
“Over the past three months we’ve been increasing jobs by about 100,000 jobs a month,” said Salustro. “Our unemployment rate is still high, but it has been dropping.”
In July, the three industry sectors that gained the most jobs were: Leisure and Hospitality, which added 65,300; Education and Health Services, which added 14,100; and Professional and Business Services, which added 8,400.
Salustro said that Leisure and Hospitality gained the most jobs by such a large margin because that sector lost the most in previous months.
“[Leisure and Hospitality] was the industry most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Salustro. “They’ve been rebounding what seems like the strongest, but they’ve also had the most ground to make up.”
Leisure and Hospitality jobs include hotels and restaurants, which had to shut down at the height of the pandemic.
The three industries with the largest declines were: Manufacturing, which fell 4,600; Construction, which fell 3,300; and Information, which fell 1,200.
Acting Director Kristin Richards was pleased to see the drop in unemployment, she also realizes that progress still has to be made.
“While we’re happy to see the unemployment rate and payrolls moving in the right direction, IDES remains committed to serving our claimants’ needs during this continued unprecedented time,” said Richards. “As we move through this period of uncertainty, the Department is working as vigilantly as possible to rise to the challenge and provide benefits and employment services to those who need them.”
Last July, when the nation wasn’t battling a pandemic, the unemployment rate in the state of Illinois was 3.9%, which is 7.4 percentage points lower than where it currently stands.
Acting Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Michael Negron says it’s clear the country is still navigating unprecedented times.
“While data from July demonstrate continued progress in the face of extraordinarily challenging economic times, it’s clear the pandemic is continuing to have an unprecedented effect on our economy,” said Negron. Evidence from other states has shown that ensuring public health is the quickest way to an economic recovery.”
IDES said that non-farm payrolls added 93,200 jobs in July.
