By KEVIN BESSLER
Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) — With rising unemployment in Illinois and the rest of the country, the “R” word has reared its ugly head and that is recession.
For much of the year, it appeared the Federal Reserve had successfully navigated the task of tempering the highest inflation in decades while keeping the economy from sinking into a recession.
While some say the Fed waited too long to cut interest rates, Ryan Young, an economist with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, doesn’t agree.
“I do not. The Fed has a dual mandate where they’re supposed to keep inflation low and also keep unemployment low and the trouble is sometimes those two mandates can contradict each other, so the Fed has to choose one or the other, you can’t choose both,” said Young.
The current economic story in Illinois includes higher unemployment, store closings, layoffs and inflation. The state’s jobless rate rose to 5% in June, the third highest in the country. Some areas of the state, like Danville and Decatur, are over 7%.
A recent report which took a look at U.S. state’s economies graded the Prairie State poorly. The personal finance website WalletHub gave Illinois a score of 38.50, which ranked 39th in the county, and ranked the state last for economic health.
The July University of Illinois System Flash Index, a measure of the state’s economy, fell to 102.3 from its 102.5 reading in June, the third drop in a row. Any reading above 100 still reflects growth.
Despite the latest jobs report, Young believes the economy is in a good spot.
“Things are good,” said Young. “I’m a little worried about what the Federal Reserve is doing on the monetary front, so things are not perfect but we certainly are not in a recession so people do not need to panic.”
