JOBS

Illinois metro area unemployment rates for July. The numbers reflect the overall Illinois unemployment numbers gathered for July 2022 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with additional data reflecting the unemployment numbers in fourteen major metropolitan areas around Illinois. The statewide unemployment rate was 4.8% in July 2022, but was higher in several metro areas with traditional ties to manufacturing and heavy industry. The unemployment rate was 6.5% in Decatur and in Rockford, and was 5.7% in Danville.

BUDGET

Illinois’ Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund has deficit of more than $4 billion. This deficit, which piled up during the 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemic and associated spike in unemployment insurance (UI) payments, is money owed to the United States Treasury. The federal Treasury loaned the Illinois UI system the money needed to pay unemployment benefits, and the UI system promised to pay the money back. These payments will have to be made through higher UI taxes on employer paychecks, lower benefits paid to future Illinois jobless workers, or both. The Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA) at the University of Illinois has examined the reason for this deficit, and this week submitted a report on the large UI deficit

BUDGET

First month of Fiscal Year 2023 shows continued Illinois revenue growth; discussion of recession fears. The July 2022 revenue report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA), a nonpartisan arm of the General Assembly, shows that State of Illinois tax revenue continued to increase in the first month of FY23. Working with cash flow numbers from the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) and other State agencies, CGFA tracked July 2022 income tax revenues as increasing $118 million over comparable numbers for July 2021. Sales tax revenues were up $55 million, leading to an overall state-tax general funds increase from all sources of $209 million for the month.