Illinois Job Index
Release
12/30/2014
Data
Jan 1990 / Nov 2014
Issue
2014.12
www.real.illinois.edu
Note: Bureau of Labor Statistics revised their current and previous estimates for employment at the beginning of 2014.
For November Illinois Job Index, Illinois, RMW and the nation 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.
Oct 2014–Nov 2014

Dec
2014
Positive
Total non-farm
employment
Growth
Rate %
Nation
Last 12 months
Nov 2014
Number of
Jobs
Growth
Rate%
Number of
Jobs
Shadow
U.R.*
0.23
321,000
1.99
2,734,000
11.17%
RMW
0.36
71,300
1.40
273,000
11.54%
Illinois
0.04
2,300
0.56
32,400
10.74%
*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

Illinois added 2,300 jobs in November 2014, compared with a 2,200 job loss in October 2014. Compared
to November 2013, Illinois has added 32,400 jobs. The three-month moving average, a more stable
measure of labor market, showed an increase of 4,700 jobs per month.
The Nation added 321,000 jobs at a rate of 0.23%, compared with a 243,000 job gain in October 2014.
The three-month moving average was up by 278,300 jobs per month.
The RMW added 71,300 jobs in November after a 32,000 job gain in October 2014. The three-month
moving average was up by 40,500 jobs per month.
Since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, Illinois has posted negative job changes 38 times
and positive job gains 44 times so far. The state of Illinois now has a net loss of 129,500 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 274,200 new jobs.
By November 2014 in Illinois, Professional & business services and Leisure & hospitality have both
recovered to their previous employment peak levels. The 12-month-ahead job recovery forecasts also
show that the future recovery rates will increase for Construction, Manufacturing, Trade, transportation
& utilities (TTU), Financial activities, Professional & business services, Leisure & hospitality and
Other Services.
The shadow unemployment rates for Illinois, RMW and the Nation were 10.74%, 11.54% and 11.17%,
compared to official unemployment rates of 6.4%, 5.5% and 5.8%.
Through November 2014, the cumulative job growth for Illinois, RMW and the Nation compared to
January 1990 stood at 11.20%, 15.62%, and 28.31%, respectively.
Total nonfarm payroll employment was up by 321,000 jobs. Sectors such as Professional & business
services, Trade, transportation & utilities and Education & health had major job growth.
The nation has recovered from the recent recession and added 2,003,000 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 average growth rates for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 were 0.07%, 0.27 %, -0.32%, 0.07%, 0.13%, 0.14%, 0.14% and 0.17% respectively.
Illinois Jobs Index
release 12/30/2014
www.real.illinois.edu
page 1
Total Non-farm Employment growth rate Jan 1990 – November 2014
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
Total Non-farm Employment and Employment Index
Nation
RMW
Illinois
November 2014
Number of Jobs
140,045,000
19,760,400
5,858,400
Current
Index to Jan 1990
128.31
115.62
111.20
Previous Peak
Index to Jan 1990
126.57 (Dec-2007)
119.44 (Jun-2000)
115.08 (Nov-2000)
Changes in Jobs
since Jan 1990
30,900,000
2,669,800
590,100
Changes in Jobs
since Pervious Peak
2,003,000
-638,600
-198,600
Last 12 months Total Non-farm Employment Growth Rate Dec 2013 – Nov 2014
Dec/13
Jan/14
Feb/14
Mar/14
Apr/14
May/14
Jun/14
Jul/14
Aug/14
Sep/14
Oct/14
Nov/14
0.40%
Nation
RMW
IL
0.30%
0.20%
0.10%
0.00%
-0.10%
-0.20%
-0.30%
-0.40%
Illinois Jobs Index
release 12/30/2014
www.real.illinois.edu
page 2
Barometer of Job Recovery
Illinois Recovery Scenarios
Growth Rate
To Recover
At the point of
2014- November
At the point of
2010-June
In 5 years
60,900 jobs/year
109,600 jobs/year
In 8 years
38,100 jobs/year
68,500 jobs/year
In 10 years
30,500 jobs/year
54,800 jobs/year
In 15 years
20,300 jobs/year
36,500 jobs/year
* The figure 578,200 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 466,100. Adding 112,100, 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 578,200.
**The figure 30,400 represents the jobs recovered from December 2009 (previous lowest level) through June 2010.
*** The figure 273,500 represents the jobs recovered from December 2009 through November 2014.
Illinois Jobs Index
release 12/30/2014
www.real.illinois.edu
page 3
Employment Growth Rate by Sector:
Total Non-farm Employment growth rate by Sector, October 2014 – November 2014
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%
-0.80%
-0.60%
-0.40%
-0.20%
0.00%
Nation


Sector
notes




Illinois Jobs Index
0.20%
0.40%
0.60%
0.80%
RMW
1.00%
1.20%
IL
Illinois posted positive change in November 2014 by adding 2,300 jobs. Eight out of ten
sectors recorded net gains. Compared to October 2014, Information (-1.23% to 0.93%) had a
major performance gain, while Trade, transportation & utilities (-0.06% to -0.74%) had a major
performance loss. Education & health (0.40% to 0.02%) also experienced net performance
loss, while Government (-0.36% to 0.04%), Other Services (-0.16% to 0.00%), Leisure &
hospitality (0.24% to 0.35%), Professional & business services (-0.02% to 0.15%), Financial
Activities (-0.41% to 0.14%), Construction (-0.34% to 1.03%) and Manufacturing (0.14% to
0.63%) experienced net gains in performance.
In November at the national level, the top three job-gain sectors were:
o Professional & business services: 86,000 (0.44%)
o Trade, transportation & utilities: 71,000 (0.27%)
o Education & health: 38,000 (0.18%)
No sector lost jobs at the national level in November.
For Illinois, the major job-gain sectors in November were:
o Leisure & hospitality: 1,900 (0.35%)
o Construction: 2,100 (1.03%)
o Manufacturing: 3,600 (0.63%)
The only sector that lost jobs in November for Illinois:
o Trade, transportation & utilities: -8,700 (-0.74%)
For Illinois, four sectors have employment below 1990 levels. Compared to 1990 employment
levels, Manufacturing has shed 345,300 jobs, Construction is down 25,000 jobs, Information
down 33,000 jobs and Financial activities has 3,800 fewer jobs.
release 12/30/2014
www.real.illinois.edu
page 4
Total Non-farm Employment growth rate by sector Jan 1990 – November 2014
Illinois
vs.
RMW
Nation
Rate
Rate
%
6.86
%
12.67
Construction
vs. RMW
-
Nation
-
Number of Jobs
-25,000
Rate %
-10.85
Manufacturing
-
-
-345,300
-37.44
-24.53
-31.35
Trade, transportation & utilities (TTU)
-
-
14,300
1.25
5.42
17.18
Information
-
-
-33,000
-25.33
-17.79
0.79
Financial activities
-
-
-3,800
-1.02
15.49
21.67
Professional & business services
-
-
338,900
59.25
72.27
81.13
Education & health
-
-
360,000
68.04
70.32
101.02
Leisure & hospitality
+
-
166,800
43.45
34.31
59.25
Other Services
+
-
49,400
24.03
23.25
31.27
Government
-
-
76,600
10.14
11.21
20.84
Illinois job recovery by sector from Dec 2007 – November 2014
Job Changes in
Recession Period*
Job Changes in
Jan 2010-Nov
2014
Recovery Rate
Forecasted Job
Changes Jan 2010Nov 2015
Forecasted
Recovery Rate
Construction
-63,800
1,500
2.35%
2,200
3.45%
Manufacturing
-114,500
22,100
19.30%
28,400
24.80%
Trade, transportation & utilities (TTU)
-97,100
41,400
42.64%
54,600
56.23%
Information
-11,300
-7,100
-62.83%
-8,600
-76.11%
Financial activities
Professional & business services
Education & health
-32,700
-92,700
32,200
3,800
130,000
67,600
11.62%
140.24%
-
4,800
156,500
84,000
14.68%
168.82%
-
Leisure & hospitality
-22,300
38,800
173.99%
46,900
210.31%
Other services
-6,300
-1,000
-16.95%
-400
-6.78%
Government
*Recession period: Dec 2007- Dec 2009
5,600
-24,400
-
-29,000
-


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 are 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 2.35%, 19.30%, 42.64%, 11.62%, 140.24% and
173.99% respectively, from the jobs lost during the recession.
By November 2014, 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 -62.83% and -16.95% respectively.
The 12-month-ahead job recovery forecasts show that the future recovery rates will increase
for Construction, Manufacturing, Trade, transportation & utilities (TTU), Financial activities,
Professional & business services, Leisure & hospitality and Other Services.
Information is predicted to lose jobs.
release 12/30/2014
www.real.illinois.edu
page 5
Construction
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
Manufacturing
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
1.03
2,100
RMW
0.61
4,500
Nation
0.33
20,000
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.63
3,600
RMW
0.55
15,000
Nation
0.23
28,000
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
Trade, transportation & utilities (TTU)
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
-0.74
-8,700
RMW
0.07
2,700
Nation
0.27
71,000
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
Illinois Jobs Index
release 12/30/2014
www.real.illinois.edu
page 6
Information
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.93
900
RMW
0.31
900
Nation
0.15
4,000
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
Financial activities
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.14
500
RMW
0.48
5,000
Nation
0.25
20,000
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
Professional & business services
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.15
1,400
RMW
0.96
23,400
Nation
0.44
86,000
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
Illinois Jobs Index
release 12/30/2014
www.real.illinois.edu
page 7
Education & health
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.02
200
RMW
0.15
4,600
Nation
0.18
38,000
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
Leisure & hospitality
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.35
1,900
RMW
0.30
5,800
Nation
0.22
32,000
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
Other Services
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0
0
RMW
0.99
8,200
Nation
0.27
15,000
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
Illinois Jobs Index
release 12/30/2014
www.real.illinois.edu
page 8
Government
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
Oct 2014 – Nov 2014
%
Change
Number of
Jobs
Illinois
0.03
300
RMW
0.02
600
Nation
0.03
7,000
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
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 12/30/2014
www.real.illinois.edu
page 9