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The economy added 303,000 jobs in March, nearly 100,000 more
than consensus expectations. Illinois’ non-farm payrolls
increased by 12,700.
The national unemployment rate slightly fell to 3.8%, hovering
near a historically low level, while the percentage of Americans
participating in the workforce increased.
Illinois’ unemployment rate in March remained at 4.8%, unchanged
from February. That is compared to 4.2% in March 2023. The
number of unemployed workers was 312,200, up 15.5% over the same
month one year ago.
“Growth in payroll jobs throughout industry sectors continues to
fuel the strength of the Illinois labor market and statewide
economy,” said Deputy Governor Andy Manar.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell recently acknowledged
that further expansion of the labor market isn’t necessarily a
concern for the Fed’s fight against inflation.
Researcher Sean Higgins with the Competitive Enterprise
Institute said despite the robust job numbers, worker shortages
persist.
“It appears to be that way, and one theory is there is a lot of
immigration coming into the country and taking a lot of these
jobs and then explaining why the hiring continues to be high
while a lot of the players say they are struggling to find
people,” said Higgins.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of March, the
number of employed foreign-born workers climbed to a record high
of 31.1 million.
In Illinois in March, the industry sectors with the largest
over-the-month job gains included: Government (+3,300), Leisure
and Hospitality (+2,900), and Trade, Transportation and
Utilities (+2,400). The industry sectors with monthly payroll
job declines included Financial Activities (-1,100), and Mining
(-100).
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