12/11/2006 6:35:00 AM
To: State Desk
Contact: Ambar Mentor of Valerie Denney Communications, 312-408-2580
ext. 25 or 773-343-1481 (cell); Paul Kleppner or Matt Eskew of Northern
Illinois University, 815-758-0780 (Paul); 815-762-5964 (Matt); Ralph
Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, 312-332-1049
CHICAGO, Dec. 11 /U.S. Newsiwre/ -- Illinois employment growth is at
its highest rate in 10 years, according to new State of Working Illinois
2006 report released today. From 2005 to 2006, the state's total
employment increased by more than two percent, exceeding national and
Midwestern rates. The number of employed grew by more than 135,000, the
largest job expansion recorded in the state since 1994.
As a result of this growth, the number of unemployed in Illinois
dropped by more than 68,000-continuing a decline that began in 2003. And
the state's unemployment rate fell by 1.1 percent between 2005 and 2006,
the second-largest drop in the nation.
The report also notes that after a sharp decline in early years of the
decade, 2005 median household income showed a modest gain of $775,
outpacing national growth. However, the current income level ($48,398)
lags just more than 10 percent below Illinois' peak in 1999.
Despite these employment gains and the slight increase in median income
in the last year, Illinois continues to see an overall loss in
higher-paying jobs, according to the report. The study finds that from
2005 to 2006 the state lost a total of 10,900 jobs from its highest paying
sectors: manufacturing and information.
While these higher-earning jobs have been disappearing, jobs in the
service sector have been created to replace them. In the past year, the
state added another 64,400 service-sector jobs, which represented a 2.2
percent rate of growth. This growth rate exceeded the national (1.9
percent) and Midwestern (1.8 percent) rates. Out of the 64,400 new service
sector jobs, the top two industries of growth were in professional and
business services and leisure and hospitality.
Overall, more than 55 percent of the new service-sector jobs earn
high-wages. However, the report notes that the job shift greatly impacts
Illinois' pocketbooks as the four fastest-growing service industries in
2006 had a weighted weekly average wage of $524.18-20 percent lower than
the average manufacturing wage ($659.66).
"Illinois continues to see ups and downs in its employment health.
While the service sector growth is having a definite impact on job
development, the decline of job quality, pay and benefits from the exodus
of the state's traditional industries has begun to take a toll on Illinois
working families," says Paul Kleppner, one of the main researchers from
the Office for Social Policy Research at Northern Illinois University.
"Illinois needs to prepare for the long-term effects of this job shift as
it will impact everything from worker development and training to the
state's fiscal health and demand for public services."
The State of Working Illinois 2006 also reviews for the first time how
Illinois compares with the nation and Midwest in key employment areas:
-- Women represent a smaller share of their labor force in Illinois,
than they do in neighboring Midwest states. The proportion of women in the
Illinois workforce declined from a high of 47 percent in 2002 to 46.2
percent in 2005.
-- Illinois minority workers sharply outnumber their counterparts
throughout the region. In 2005, the 28 percent of minorities in the
state's workforce was 10.3 percentage points higher than the Midwest
average and only slightly below the national level. The main driver of
greater workforce diversity in Illinois has been the growing Hispanic
population, whose share of the workforce has more than tripled since
1980.
-- Illinois' workforce has also gained higher education over time. By
2005, most Illinois workers had some post-secondary education (62 percent)
and nearly 33 percent have a college degree. By both of these measures
Illinois' workforce had considerably better education than its regional
and national counterparts.
-- Illinois poverty rate lowest since 2001. The state's 2005 poverty
rate of 11.5 percent is lower than the national rate and below that of
every state in the region except Wisconsin.
-- Union membership boots women's wages significantly. For women
nationally, union membership produces a weekly wage boost of about 33
percent, nearly 36 percent in the Midwest, and nearly 28 percent in
Illinois.
"Illinois leads the nation and region in significant employment areas
such as diversity and education, but as job quality and benefits continue
to decline, qualified workers will not be seeing adequate compensation for
their work," says Ralph Martire, Executive Director, Center for Tax and
Budget Accountability. "In order to stay with and ahead of our regional
and national counterparts, the state must adapt to this job transition and
develop new measures towards maintaining a stable and sustainable
economy."
The report's Midwest comparisons consists of the five states that the
Census designates as the "East North Central" region- Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. The data for the Midwest includes the data
for the state of Illinois. Data for individual Midwestern states are
available online at http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=77370&Link=http://www.stateofworkingillinois.niu.edu.
The study is a follow up to the 2005 State of Working Illinois report
which was developed by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, and
the Office of Social Policy Research and the Regional Development
Institute of Northern Illinois University and funded by The Joyce
Foundation. The Illinois Department of Employment Security also provided
data for the report. The 2007 edition of the report will provide an update
on employment trends in each of the state's ten regions identified by
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
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The State of Working Illinois is a joint project of the Center for Tax
and Budget Accountability and Northern Illinois University (Office of
Social Policy Research and Regional Development Institute) with data and
assistance from the Illinois Department of Employment Security to provide
Illinois policy makers with an ongoing series of reports containing sound
information on issues related to work and economic development in
Illinois. For more information and copies of recent reports visit: http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=77370&Link=http://www.stateofworkingillinois.niu.edu.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=77370&Link=http://www.usnewswire.com/
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