By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
Illinois private sector job growth under Gov. Pritzker has been almost nonexistent, a fact that stands in stark contrast to his administration’s recent brag about record jobs numbers.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Illinois has created a meager 15,500 net new jobs since the governor took office in January of 2019. It’s the nation’s 4th-worst performance among the 50 states.
Contrast Illinois’ performance to growth in Georgia, which has added more than 360,000 net new jobs. Or Arizona, with more than 338,000 new jobs. Or the biggest job creators, Florida and Texas, with 1.1 million and 1.5 million net new jobs, respectively.
Illinois’ poor record is unsurprising considering its continued high taxes, record spending, and unreformed and overregulated business environment.
Illinois’ job stagnation is obvious when compared to a rapidly-growing state like North Carolina. Since January 2019, North Carolina has created nearly 480,000 new private sector jobs, a total growth of over 12%.
Illinois, meanwhile, has barely managed to tread water. The state has just 0.3% more jobs today than when Gov. Pritzker took office.
Or compare Illinois to Florida. The Sunshine State has managed to create over 1.1 million private sector jobs at the same time Illinois has barely managed to generate 15,500.
Back to Gov. Pritzker’s claim. Yes, it’s true that Illinois has hit a record number of jobs, but that’s nothing when jobs numbers have practically flatlined. Just look at the graphics above. Illinois is hitting new highs by merely a few hundred jobs while other states are adding tens of thousands of new jobs every month.
In other words, Illinois is falling far behind on growth and prosperity compared to other states.
Illinoisans can’t find good jobs. And when they can’t find good jobs, wages grow more slowly. No wonder Illinois is losing so many young and working age residents – as we reported here – to greener pastures.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Illinois’ disastrous demographics: Fewer youth, a drop in working-age residents and a jump in elderly
- Illinois’ 2026 budget: the failure of good intentions
- What one business owner said to me: Why expand in Illinois when there’s little economic growth?
- Fresh 2024 data: Illinoisans hit by nation’s 9th-worst economic growth, 3rd-worst wage gains
- Illinoisans pay top dollar again for just 50 new jobs promised by Pure Lithium
Appendix.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
thank you for my supplemental dose of party indoctrination. can you also tell me that our president isn’t a child molester?
Here in NC there is economic vitality everywhere.
My NC county has a problem that no county in Illinois has. There’s so much development we’ve elected some county commission who have pledged to slow down the growth so we don’t increase crowding and have to raise taxes.
Illinois is just going through the motions living off its past glory.
As a small business owner, we have seen our customers move out of state on a regular basis. They wonder why we are still here. Not sure I have a good answer anymore.
15500/6 = 2583 jobs per year! That chart illustrates what’s wrong with Illinois.
Pritzker and the demons (democrats) do not want private sector jobs, they want total control through there union affiliates. After the dirty work is done and democratic devils have total control bye bye union buddies. Remember they are coming after us.
Fewer chairs, more players in the game. The music will stop soon.
Let me guess-I’m just jealous, right?
“ Um .. well, based on future revenue, all the created jobs will pay millions, like the Lion plant in Joliet and the EV plant in Belvedere! Oh, wait.. Quit asking questions, carnival barker!” said the governor.
Putzger is a trust fund baby who doesn’t understand how to develop financial growth. Some advisor in the family tells him what to do. He’s doing all this $hit by himself.
The current state of the private economy in CI – illegals doing scab work like roofing heading south. Longtime contractors just hanging on by doing low bid government makework, or quasi-government jobs. People who wish to stay get jobs in a unit of government or quasi-government (healthcare) and then stay there forever depressing wages and resulting in a static economy at best. The WP data shows this.
The Public Sector is where all the money is. Who in their right mind would want to open a business in Illinois? To get rich in Illinois you work for the government with great pay and benefits and then retire at a young age with a huge pension with 3% annual increases. You will make more money in retirement than you did doing during your working years. This is all paid for by the private sector who is not able to afford this any longer. The college graduates burn rubber out of the state for greener grass. Why support a… Read more »
There is an unhealthy smugness amongst the public union crowd as they know Pritzker and supermajority Democrat legislature will move heaven and earth to provide them with ever more oversized and unearned compensation at the expense of everyone else, even to the point of bankruptcy. IL is very much a potempkin-like state of dysfunction that abuses most of its citizens thanks to Democrats.
100% spot on.
Numbers don’t lie, but politicians do. And local media just follows their lead. (Except Wirepoints, except most IL residents don’t follow.)
I personally believe more media outlets will open their eyes (or, in other words, have those eyes opened for them by the truth) after Atty. General Bond makes the contents of the DoJ reports on Jeffery Epstein public.
Do you really think the MSM media can be trusted to report honestly about what’s in those files?
I have seen news reports that the list contains numerous media personalities. Not just executives either.