From State Rep. Dan Ugaste:
Illinois unemployment rate remained at 5.3% in October 2024
Based on the preliminary figures released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), the unemployment rate remained unchanged from the 5.3% confirmed for the previous month of September. This Illinois jobless rate was 120 basis points higher than the comparable national unemployment rate of 4.1%.
The preliminary October findings continue to indicate that the post-COVID-19 economic recovery has effectively ended in Illinois, with payroll growth flattening out to zero. Illinois employers reported paying 6,142,400 (seasonally adjusted) non-agricultural workers in October 2024, down 2,400 from the equivalent number in September.
The overall picture of zero job growth in Illinois in 2024 contains large pockets of growth and decline. Over the most recently concluded 12-month period, Illinois employers of people in professional and business services reported cutting 18,400 Illinois jobs, and employers in financial services reported cutting 8,000 jobs.
Illinois continued to create new jobs in healthcare (up 30,400) and government (up 22,300) during the same 12-month period.
Manufacturing-oriented metro areas within Illinois continued to experience comparative job stagnation and high unemployment in October 2024.
Examples include Danville (6.2% unemployment in October 2024), Decatur (5.8%), and Rockford (5.4%)
