Illinois gains jobs, but loses higher-paying ones

(AP) — Illinois' employment grew at the highest rate in a decade, although the state continued to lose higher-paying jobs, according to a report released Monday.

"We're growing jobs. We're not growing high-quality, high-paying, good-benefit jobs," said Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, who contributed to the report.

Between July 2005 and July 2006, the state's total employment increased by 2.2%, greater than the national rate of 1.9% and better than the average rate of 1.8% for four other Midwestern states: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Illinois added 135,000 new jobs, mostly in the hospitality sector — hotel housekeepers or restaurant wait staff, for example. At the same time, there were 10,900 fewer jobs within the information and manufacturing sectors, which usually have the highest pay.

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The report, called the "State of Working Illinois 2006," analyzed data from the Census, the Illinois Department of Employment Security and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is an update to an initial study released by the same researchers in 2005.

Industry officials say it echoes what they've said for a long time.

"We're getting away from our historical heritage of industrial and agricultural," said Jim Nelson, spokesman for the Illinois Manufacturers' Assn.

The report found that between July 1990 and July 2005, the total number of manufacturing jobs in Illinois dropped by 24.6%, or 225,800 jobs.

Fred Giertz, a University of Illinois economist, said Illinois is mimicking the national trend.

"Employment goes down because operations become more efficient," Giertz said. "We can produce more efficiently so we basically need fewer people."

The report also shows that most industries' weekly wages have declined since 2001.

After being adjusted for inflation, the weekly wage in the manufacturing sector in 2001 was $693.94. By 2006, it fell 4.9%, to $659.66, according to Matthew Eskew, a researcher at Northern Illinois University's Regional Development Institute and Office for Social Policy Research.

However, researchers have seen small gains in weekly wages since 2005. And women's wages increased by 17.9% between 1980 and 2004 and are 34 cents higher than the national median. However, women still are paid less than men on average.

"There's some good news finally in Illinois, we've got a decent rate of job growth, but economic data is a little more complex than that," Martire said. "The hope is that we're entering a positive phase."

The report was conducted by Northern Illinois University, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and the Illinois Department of Employment Security; it was funded by the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation.