Illinois residents are at the mercy of the coronavirus pandemic as jobless claims rise, especially in metropolitan areas. | GettyImages
Illinois residents are at the mercy of the coronavirus pandemic as jobless claims rise, especially in metropolitan areas. | GettyImages
The coronavirus pandemic has created a difficult situation for businesses around the country, and especially in Illinois. Though there has been positive signs for the country in terms economic rebuilding and repair, Illinois metropolitan areas are not yet feeling the boost according to new numbers release by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Statistics (IDES).
In fact, all 14 metropolitan areas throughout Illinois has experienced increasing unemployment rates and a decrease in jobs available.
On average, jobs in metropolitan areas were down between 7% and 10% throughout the state. No industry was able to gain jobs in the metropolitan areas, according to the data. The data is being measured by comparing this October to last October. Unemployment in the state is hovering around 6.5%, which is higher than the national average.
Metropolitian areas in Illinois are seeing the economic repercussions of coronavirus as many small business' are shut down, and unemployment rates grow
| istock
Small businesses are hurting perhaps more than any other business type throughout the state, especially restaurants. This is mostly due to restrictions imposed on businesses that dictate appropriate gathering sizes.
"Every metro area and its claimants will be impacted by the expiration of the federal CARES Act unemployment programs in just a few short weeks and IDES and the Pritzker administration will continue to call on the federal government to provide claimant stability through the end of this pandemic," said Hynes.
State legislators are doing what they can to provide relief, but there is much disagreement over what can be done to both slow the spread of the virus and improve the economy.
"As the state works to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and protect residents from this deadly virus, IDES will continue to provide services to claimants, job-seekers and employers as fast as possible. We also need the federal government to take action," said Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes about the situation in Illinois.
There is some hope for the job markets around the country because of an apparently inevitable vaccine, but job numbers continue to plummet as the economy is getting worse by the day.
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