The Illinois Department of Employment Security announced that nonfarm payroll data is almost unchanged compared to last year.
Reports for January read that state unemployment was 0.9 percent higher than the national average of 4 percent, which is the same as last year.
The data reports the rate, around three hundred and twenty-four thousand, went down since last month, but increased by 1.2 percent since January 2024.
Although since then, total nonfarm payroll jobs have increased by thirty-six thousand more statewide, up 0.6 percent in Illinois and 1.3 percent nationwide.
The industry groups with the largest job expansion include private education and health services, government, and leisure and hospitality.
Decreases were most seen in the professional and business services, manufacturing, and construction fields.
