By ANDREW HENSEL for the Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) — Illinois’ rate of unemployment claims is still higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
A report from consumer finance website WalletHub ranks the states in order of which state saw the biggest jump in unemployment claims over the previous week. Illinois ranks second on the list.
Jill Gonzalez, a public policy expert for WalletHub, said that while most of the country is dealing with a higher amount of claims, Illinois is seeing more than the rest.
“We are now seeing another increase, pretty much nationwide,” Gonzalez said. “Specifically in Illinois, that’s where it seems like in these last couple of weeks, things have increased a little more.”
According to the report, 15 states had unemployment claims last week that were higher than before the pandemic, including Illinois.
“Illinois is one of the fifteen states that had unemployment claims over the last week that were higher,” Gonzalez said. “So that obviously is not a good thing for Illinois.”
Illinois is also dealing with a 60% increase in unemployment claims when compared to 2019, which is the 4th worst in the nation behind only Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan.
Gonzalez said she believes this is a sign of a larger issue for Illinois and not just a bad week.
“Illinois has been trending upward in terms of its unemployment claims, and a lot of states have as well,” Gonzalez said. “Fifteen states had a worse week than before the pandemic and I think we are going to see that number continue to grow.”
Illinois already has a $1.8 billion unemployment trust fund debt that has not been paid, with claims increasing across the state. The interest owed will cost taxpayers millions of dollars. State Sen. Win Stoller, R-Germantown Hills, said in April the debt issue could lead to a “painful recession.”
If the debt is not paid, increases on businesses and benefit reductions for the unemployed would kick in.
“Already billions of dollars in debt, already having higher taxes on our employers, already putting our employees in a situation of having fewer benefits when we enter a recession and have the related spike in unemployment,” Stoller said.
Illinois ranked 2nd in increased claims over the last week and is ranked 15th since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.
