SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced Wednesday that the unemployment rate fell 0.1% to 3.8%, a new historical low, while nonfarm payrolls lost 17,200 jobs in November, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“That’s down from one year ago, when we were at 4.3%,” said IDES Spokesperson Sam Salustro.
The October monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report from 1,900 to 8,300 jobs.
The state’s unemployment rate in November was 0.3% higher than the national unemployment rate of 3.5%, which was down 0.1% from the previous month.
Average payroll employment in Illinois during the September to November three-month period was nearly unchanged, down 100 jobs, compared to the August to October three-month period. The largest average gains were found in Government (+1,800), Educational and Health Services (+1,700), and Leisure and Hospitality (+1,200).
Salustro said Illinois has had a number of strong job reports lately, as compared to last year.
“We’ve grown over 40,000 jobs. Our labor force has grown, which means more people are entering the workforce. These are all good signs for a strong economy,” Salustro said.
The largest gains in jobs were in Leisure and Hospitality (+18,100), Educational and Health Services (+14,700), and Government (+11,400).
The industry sectors with the largest over-the-year declines were: Construction (-4,000), Professional and Business Services (-2,300) and Information (-1,400). Illinois nonfarm payrolls were up 0.7% over-the-year as compared to the nation’s 1.5% over-the-year gain in November.
The number of unemployed workers decreased from the previous month, down 2.0% to 246,000, a new record low, and was down 10.8% over the same month in 2018. The labor force was down 0.1% over-the-month but up 0.4% over-the-year.
The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment.
