(The Center Square) – Unemployment in Illinois climbed to 5.3% in October, making the state home to the third highest jobless rate in the country.
All told, some 346,000 residents were left looking for work in October, leaving the state unemployment rate higher than all neighboring states and behind only California and Nevada nationwide.
Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, said there’s little wonder why the state’s economy always seems to be under constant duress.
“The cost of doing business in Illinois is not only driving employers out, but it’s keeping new businesses from coming,” Caulkins told The Center Square as new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the state unemployment rate of 5.3% in October is more than a full point above the national average of 4.1%.
Caulkins warned it could lead to further population loss for Illinois.
“I’m going to presume that this high unemployment is going to drive more people out of Illinois and it leaves the lower skilled folks here,” Caulkins added. “It leaves the chronically unemployed here and it’s not a good climate for job creators.”
Over the past month, the state has seen its largest net decline in job growth in the areas of professional and business sector posts, with 18,400 fewer jobs than the year before. At the same time, the highest growth rates were seen in government, where just over 10,300 positions were added.
Since the pandemic, Illinois ranks 47th in the country in job growth and last among all neighboring states in job growth rate with only 1,200 more jobs than were available in January 2020, making for just a 0.02% increase over that time. At the same time, U.S. Census Bureau data shows the state lost 32,826 residents in 2023, marking the 10th straight year of net population decline.
Going forward, Caulkins argued that sort of combination doesn’t bode well for the state’s future, especially if nothing else changes.
“We’re going to be left behind in the next economy,” he said. “I suspect we’ll lose at least one congressional seat in the 2030 census the way things are going. There’s folks that have job skills, but there’s no work and they’re taking their families and leaving. I think what we have to do is look at our competitors and what they are doing to attract or keep the businesses.”
Illinois is also now home to the second highest corporate income taxes in the country and its tax code is considered to be among the least friendly for businesses in the Midwest.
