Moody’s Analytics provided its latest Forecast Report to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and gave some optimism to Illinois. Some highlights include:
- Illinois added two-thirds more job positions on net than it did in 2017.
- Manufacturing accounted for one in four net job additions.
- The jobless rate hit an all-time low for 42 years, at 4.1%.
- City of Chicago unemployment has fallen below 4%.
- There’s been a 19% rise in state personal income growth over the past five years.
- High- and mid-wage occupations are at their strongest.
Long-term forecasting, by industry:
- Professional/business services are expected to grow, particularly in the city of Chicago.
- Financial services employ 6.5% of the state’s workforce and have increased their market share.
- Tourism is expected to outperform other industries over the next ten years but will be at a slower growth pace than it has been for several years.
- Transportation, warehousing, and wholesale trade account for 11% of the gross state product.
- Healthcare will add jobs downstate at five times the pace of the overall economy.
- Agriculture’s outlook is optimistic despite recent low crop prices.
- Illinois will have to fight to hold its manufacturing base.
- Higher education enrollment is expected to drop.
Although the labor force sees optimism, there are still some areas in which Illinois did not see an upward tick:
- The state population declined by 0.35%.
- Residential real estate prices have flattened.
- Farm income is down by 90% from its 2013 nadir.
- Business costs continue to be high compared to neighboring states.
To read the full report, click: State of Illinois Forecast Report
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