Illinois ended 2016 with 28,400 more jobs than it had when the year started, though a big job drop in December didn’t help the cause.
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The state lost 16,700 jobs in December, the most of any month last year, according to preliminary data released Friday by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The unemployment rate rose a notch to 5.7 percent in December, up from 5.6 percent in November. During December 2015, the Illinois unemployment rate was 6.1 percent.
The agency also revised preliminary job numbers for November to show a loss rather than a gain. The state lost 4,500 jobs in November, as opposed to the 1,700 gain that was reported last month.
Department Director Jeff Mays called the end-of-year drop “troubling, to say the least.” Jobs grew by 0.5 percent rate over the year in Illinois, slower than the 1.5 percent gain for the nation. The national unemployment rate of 4.7 percent also ticked up last month, but Illinois’ rate remains significantly higher.
“Illinois needs structural reforms and a balanced budget to attract new jobs and investment in our state,” said Sean McCarthy, acting director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
The job gains over the year in 2016 were an improvement over 2015, when Illinois lost 3,000 jobs.
The December job losses primarily were in education and health services, professional and business services, and construction. The most job gains in December were in financial activities and information.
But over the course of the year, professional and business services added 31,600 jobs, the most of all the categories, and leisure and hospitality followed with 11,900 jobs.
Manufacturing lost 11,000 jobs last year, the most of the industry categories. Construction jobs declined by 9,700, information by 2,900 and financial activities also by 2,900.
There were 374,500 people unemployed in Illinois last month, about 6,100 more than in November but down 6.5 percent from the prior year.
Unemployment numbers count people who are out of work and looking for work, but not those who have given up.
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