Illinois Job Index
Release
5/29/2015
Data
Jan 1990 / Apr 2015
Issue
2015.5
www.real.illinois.edu
For April 2015 Illinois Job Index, the nation, RMW and Illinois all had positive job growth.
The Illinois Job Index and MSA Report are issued monthly as tools for elected officials, policy leaders and the public. The
objective is to enhance the understanding of the Illinois economy and business climate by comparing and measuring Illinois
employment growth rates against those of the Rest of the Midwest (RMW: Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and
Wisconsin) and the Nation. Data and analysis are provided by the Illinois Economic Observatory / Regional Economics
Applications Laboratory, University of Illinois.
Mar 2015–Apr 2015

May
2015
Positive
Total non-farm
employment
Growth
Rate %
Nation
Last 12 months
Apr 2015
Number of
Jobs
Growth
Rate%
Number of
Jobs
Shadow
U.R.*
0.16
223,000
2.15
2,982,000
10.93%
RMW
0.09
17,500
1.65
323,500
11.05%
Illinois
0.08
4,800
1.07
62,900
10.94%
*REAL has estimated a shadow unemployment rate; this is calculated as the unemployment rate that would be observed if labor force participation rates matched the
average for the 15-year period from 1990 to 2004.
Talking Points
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Illinois 
Notes
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Nation 
Notes
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Illinois added 4,800 jobs in April 2015, compared with a 2,200 job loss in March 2015. Compared to
April 2014, Illinois has added 62,900 jobs. The three-month moving average, a more stable measure of
labor market, showed an increase of 5,800 jobs per month.
The Nation added 223,000 jobs at a rate of 0.16%, compared with an 85,000 job gain in March 2015. The
three-month moving average was up by 574,000 jobs per month.
The RMW gained 17,500 jobs in April after a 1,900 job gain in March 2015. The three-month moving
average was up by 19,000 jobs per month.
Since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, Illinois has posted negative job changes 40 times
and positive job gains 47 times. The state of Illinois now has a net loss of 68,200 jobs since the
beginning of the recession in December 2007.
Four sectors in Illinois have employment levels this month that are lower than January 1990 –
Construction, Manufacturing, Financial Activities and Information.
Since January 2010, when Illinois employment growth resumed after the national recession, Illinois has
added 334,800 new jobs.
By April 2015 in Illinois, Professional & business services and Leisure & hospitality have both
recovered to their previous employment peak levels. The 12-month-ahead job recovery forecasts show
that the future recovery rates in Illinois will increase for every sector except Manufacturing, Information
and Financial Services.
The shadow unemployment rates for Illinois, RMW and the Nation were 10.94%, 11.05% and 10.93%,
compared to official unemployment rates of 6.0%, 5.1% and 5.4%.
Through April 2015, the cumulative job growth for Illinois, RMW and the Nation compared to January
1990 stood at 12.36%, 16.39%, and 29.52%, respectively.
Total nonfarm payroll employment was up by 223,000 jobs. Sectors such as Construction, Professional
& business services and Education & health had major job growth.
The nation has recovered from the recent recession and added 3,017,000 additional jobs since the last
employment peak in December 2007. However, for RMW and Illinois, they have not yet recovered from
their respective peaks in 2000.
The nation’s annual average growth rates from 2007 to 2015 were 0.07%, -0.27 %, -0.32%, 0.07%,
0.13%, 0.14%, 0.14%, 0.19% and 0.14% respectively.
Illinois Jobs Index
release 5/29/2015
www.real.illinois.edu
page 1
Total Non-farm Employment growth rate Jan 1990 – April 2015
135.00
130.00
125.00
120.00
115.00
110.00
105.00
100.00
National
RMW
IL
95.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Total Non-farm Employment and Employment Index
Nation
RMW
Illinois
April 2015
Number of Jobs
141,367,000
19,892,600
5,919,700
Current
Index to Jan 1990
129.52
116.39
112.36
Previous Peak
Index to Jan 1990
126.57 (Dec-2007)
119.44 (Jun-2000)
115.08 (Nov-2000)
Changes in Jobs
since Jan 1990
32,222,000
2,802,000
651,400
Changes in Jobs
since Pervious Peak
3,017,000
-506,400
-137,300
Last 12 months Total Non-farm Employment Growth Rates May 2014 – April 2015
May/14
Jun/14
Jul/14
Aug/14
Sep/14
Oct/14
Nov/14
Dec/14
Jan/15
Feb/15
Mar/15
Apr/15
0.35%
0.30%
0.25%
0.20%
0.15%
0.10%
0.05%
0.00%
-0.05%
-0.10%
Nation
RMW
IL
-0.15%
Illinois Jobs Index
release 5/29/2015
www.real.illinois.edu
page 2
Barometer of Job Recovery
Illinois Recovery Scenarios
Growth Rate
To Recover
At the point of
2015- April
At the point of
2010-June
In 5 years
52,600 jobs/year
114,100 jobs/year
In 8 years
32,900 jobs/year
71,300 jobs/year
In 10 years
26,300 jobs/year
57,100 jobs/year
In 15 years
17,500 jobs/year
38,000 jobs/year
* The figure 598,000 is the number of jobs needed for the Illinois economy to recover to the previous employment peak, Nov2000. The gap between the previous peak, Nov-2000 and the previous lowest point, Dec-2009 is 472,100. Adding 125,900, the
number of jobs that needed to bring the shadow and official unemployment rates together, the total number of jobs that Illinois
needs to create is 598,000.
**The figure 27,500 represents the jobs recovered from December 2009 (previous lowest level) through June 2010.
*** The figure 334,800 represents the jobs recovered from December 2009 through April 2015.
Illinois Jobs Index
release 5/29/2015
www.real.illinois.edu
page 3
Employment Growth Rate by Sector:
Total Non-farm Employment growth rate by Sector, March 2015 – April 2015
20 Construction
30 Manufacturing
40 Trade, transportation & utilities
50 Information
55 Financial activities
60 Professional & business services
65 Education & health
70 Leisure & hospitality
80 Other Services
90 Government
-1.00%
-0.50%
0.00%
Nation


Sector
notes




Illinois Jobs Index
0.50%
1.00%
RMW
1.50%
IL
Illinois posted positive change in April 2015 by adding 4,800 jobs. Four out of ten sectors
recorded net gains. Compared to March 2015, Other Services (-0.75% to 0.56%) had a major
performance gain, while Construction (1.71% to -0.37%) had a major performance loss.
Government (-0.13% to -0.08%), Leisure & hospitality (-0.57% to -0.04%), Education & health
(-0.11% to 0.12%), and Professional & business services (-0.05% to 0.89%) also experienced net
performance gains, while Financial activities (-0.43% to -0.65%), Information (0.30% to 0.51%), Manufacturing (-0.09% to -0.21%) and Trade, transportation & utilities (0.33% to
0.00%) experienced net losses in performances.
In April at the national level, the top three job-gain sectors were:
o Construction: 45,000 (0.71%)
o Professional & business services: 62,000 (0.32%)
o Education & health: 61,000 (0.28%)
No sector lost jobs at the national level in April
For Illinois, the major job-gain sectors in April were:
o Professional & business services: 8,200 (0.89%)
o Other Services: 1,400 (0.56%)
o Education & health: 1,100 (0.12%)
The top-three sectors that lost jobs in April for Illinois were:
o Manufacturing: -1,200 (-0.21%)
o Financial Activities: -2,400 (-0.65%)
o Construction: -800 (-0.37%)
For Illinois, four sectors have employment below 1990 levels. Compared to 1990 employment
levels, Manufacturing has shed 345,900 jobs, Construction is down 17,500 jobs, Information
down 32,100 jobs and Financial activities has 7,900 fewer jobs.
release 5/29/2015
www.real.illinois.edu
page 4
Total Non-farm Employment growth rate by sector Jan 1990 – April 2015
Illinois
vs.
RMW
Nation
Rate
Rate
Construction
vs. RMW
-
Nation
-
Number of Jobs
-17,500
Rate %
-7.60
%
11.71
%
17.72
Manufacturing
-
-
-345,900
-37.50
-23.87
-30.76
Trade, transportation & utilities (TTU)
-
-
40,000
3.48
6.85
17.98
Information
-
-
-32,100
-24.64
-16.55
4.23
Financial activities
-
-
-7,900
-2.12
16.18
22.88
Professional & business services
-
-
362,700
63.41
73.44
81.90
Education & health
-
-
368,200
69.59
71.15
103.35
Leisure & hospitality
+
-
177,100
46.13
35.96
61.94
Other Services
+
-
46,100
22.42
21.71
33.45
Government
-
-
69,800
9.24
10.02
20.69
Illinois job recovery by sector from Dec 2007 – April 2015
Job Changes in
Recession Period*
Job Changes in
Jan 2010-Apr
2015
Recovery Rate
Forecasted Job
Changes Jan 2010Apr 2016
Forecasted
Recovery Rate
Construction
-63,800
9,000
14.11%
22,200
34.80%
Manufacturing
-114,600
21,600
18.85%
17,300
15.10%
Trade, transportation & utilities (TTU)
-97,700
67,700
69.29%
77,800
79.63%
Information
-11,300
-6,200
-54.87%
-6,700
-59.29%
Financial activities
Professional & business services
Education & health
-33,000
-92,200
32,600
0
153,300
75,400
0.00%
166.27%
-
-5,800
181,100
91,400
-17.58%
196.42%
-
Leisure & hospitality
-22,300
49,100
220.18%
56,900
255.16%
Other services
-5,900
-4,300
-72.88%
-4,000
-67.80%
Government
*Recession period: Dec 2007- Dec 2009
6,000
-31,600
-
-31,400
-


Recovery
by Sector



Illinois Jobs Index
During the recession period of December 2007-December 2009, 8 out of 10 Illinois sectors
experienced negative job growth. Education & health and Government were the only 2 sectors
that had positive job growth during the recession.
Since January 2010, Illinois employment growth resumed. Construction, Manufacturing,
Trade, transportation & utilities, Financial activities, Professional & business services and
Leisure & hospitality have recovered 14.11%, 18.85%, 69.29%, 0.00%, 166.27% and
220.18% respectively, from the jobs lost during the recession.
By April 2015, Professional & business services and Leisure & hospitality had both recovered
to their previous employment peak levels.
However, recovery rates for sectors such as Information and Other Services are still negative,
namely -54.87% and -72.88% respectively.
The 12-month-ahead job recovery forecasts show that the future recovery rates in Illinois will
increase for every sector except Manufacturing, Information and Financial Services.
release 5/29/2015
www.real.illinois.edu
page 5
Construction
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
Manufacturing
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
-0.37
-800
RMW
1.19
9,100
Nation
0.71
45,000
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
-0.21
-1,200
RMW
0.18
5,000
Nation
0.01
1,000
110.00
100.00
90.00
80.00
70.00
60.00
National
RMW
IL
50.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Trade, transportation & utilities (TTU)
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.00
0
RMW
-0.01
-200
Nation
0.09
24,000
120.00
115.00
110.00
105.00
100.00
National
RMW
IL
95.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Illinois Jobs Index
release 5/29/2015
www.real.illinois.edu
page 6
Information
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
-0.51
-500
RMW
0.03
100
Nation
0.11
3,000
140.00
130.00
120.00
110.00
100.00
90.00
80.00
National
RMW
IL
70.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Financial activities
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
-0.65
-2,400
RMW
-0.16
-1,700
Nation
0.11
9,000
130.00
125.00
120.00
115.00
110.00
105.00
100.00
National
RMW
IL
95.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Professional & business services
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.89
8,200
RMW
0.45
11,100
Nation
0.32
62,000
190.00
180.00
170.00
160.00
150.00
140.00
130.00
120.00
110.00
100.00
National
RMW
IL
90.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Illinois Jobs Index
release 5/29/2015
www.real.illinois.edu
page 7
Education & health
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.12
1,100
RMW
0.21
6,600
Nation
0.28
61,000
220.00
200.00
180.00
160.00
140.00
120.00
National
RMW
IL
100.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Leisure & hospitality
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
-0.04
-200
RMW
-0.29
-5,700
Nation
0.11
17,000
170.00
160.00
150.00
140.00
130.00
120.00
110.00
100.00
National
RMW
IL
90.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Other Services
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.56
1,400
RMW
-0.25
-2,100
Nation
0.11
6,000
135.00
130.00
125.00
120.00
115.00
110.00
105.00
100.00
National
RMW
IL
95.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Illinois Jobs Index
release 5/29/2015
www.real.illinois.edu
page 8
Government
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
Mar 2015 – Apr 2015
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
-0.08
-700
RMW
-0.15
-4,300
Nation
0.05
10,000
130.00
125.00
120.00
115.00
110.00
105.00
National
RMW
IL
100.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
ABOUT: The Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) is a unit of the Institute of Government and Public
Affairs of the University of Illinois. REAL undertakes impact and forecasting analyses of the Illinois and several Midwestern
economies and is also engaged in similar analysis in several other countries including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Japan.
More information can be found at www.real.illinois.edu.
Illinois Jobs Index
release 5/29/2015
www.real.illinois.edu
page 9