With payrolls up by 75,300 through November, Illinois’ unemployment rate has dropped to 5.1 percent over the first 11 months of 1995, the lowest since 1974, when the state posted a jobless level of just 4.2 percent.
And state officials project that employment will continue rising in 1996, with payrolls up by 58,500 to 77,500.
The state’s unemployment rate is down from 5.7 percent in 1994 and comes as employers have added 300,000 jobs over the last three years, an increase of 5.6 percent. That is better than the 5.1 percent increase in payrolls in 10 other big states.
Through November, manufacturing employment has grown by 5,400 jobs, but it is up by 38,600 since the start of 1993. Transportation payrolls have risen by 5,300 in 1995, while the number of jobs in financial services has increased by 17,900.
