Jobs in Illinois Harder to Find in October

Finding a job in Illinois just got harder. During the month of October, the state’s unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent from Septembers 6.9 percent, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). This means that approximately 11,700 of the state’s residents lost their jobs in October, bring total employment down to 5,958,400. For the same month, the national jobless percentage was 6.5 percent.

The struggling housing market continued to cause problem for the state’s job market. Approximately 4,100 people lost their construction jobs in Illinois in October. Since fewer people can afford to buy new homes, the need for new construction projects have drastically declined. Altogether, the industry has lost 15,200 jobs. Out of these, almost half (7,400 jobs) were done away with by employers during the last two months. Total industry employment is now down to 254,500.

With so many people unemployment, many local governments have having to tighten their belts because the amount of taxes taken in has dropped significantly. As a result of this, the government sector lost 2,700 jobs in Illinois. Employment in this industry is now at 850,200.

Throughout the nation the financial industry has taken a severe hit. With the results of the bailout still to be seen, many employers are cutting expenses by doing away with jobs. In Illinois, 2,200 banking, insurance and securities workers found themselves without work in October. The industry now provides jobs to 394,000 of the state’s residents. Other sectors that showed signs of weakening included manufacturing and retail.

“Although Illinois has a diverse economy, the national economic slowdown has had a negative effect on Illinois unemployment and thus we need federal government assistance with an investment in infrastructure and additional stimulus to help create jobs,” said Maureen O’Donnell, who is the director of IDES, according to the Chicago Tribune.