Report: Illinois job growth peaked last summer

CHICAGO (AP) - A revised report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Illinois job growth hit a high point last summer and surpassed its prior business cycle peak from September 2000.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security says the revised data shows job growth from December 2015-2017 is higher than initially reported. Growth peaked last summer and the state added over 47,000 new jobs last year. The updated data accounts for non-farm payroll revisions and labor force statistics.

Employment Security Director Jeff Mays says the growth is due to a "resurgence in manufacturing." Nearly half of the total increase in jobs comes from the manufacturing sector.

But Illinois' January unemployment rate of 4.8 percent is still 0.7 percentage points higher than the national average.