Job growth continues statewide, according to Illinois Department of Employment Security

For the 17th consecutive month, the Illinois Department of Employment Security has reported job growth in the state,

October saw a job increase of more than 3,600 in nonfarm payrolls, although unemployment jumped slightly to 4.6% compared to 4.5% in September — 0.9% higher than the national average.

More than 191,000 jobs have been created since October 2021, according to a report released last week.

“Job growth throughout the state has remained strong for nearly a year and a half, and the most recent data is evidence that workers are engaged in the growing labor market,” said Deputy Gov. Andy Manar in a statement. “IDES is committed to providing jobseekers and employers with the resources necessary to take advantage of the many newly created jobs across industries.”

Sectors such as trade, transportation and utilities, and leisure and hospitality experienced growth, while numbers trended down for those in the public sector. Since October 2020, those industries have reported job increases of more than 90,000.

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The report follow an earlier announcement from IDES, which said the state has had six consecutive months of record-low unemployment claims.

The IDES data indicates Illinois has stayed below the 70,000 claims threshold for 26 consecutive weeks with a little more than 57,000 continued claims as of last week.

Still, an increase of 2.6% occurred in the number of unemployed workers and the labor force shrunk by 0.2% compared to September 2022.