The dismal news reported Monday by the U.S. Department of Labor: Illinois still has the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation. Only economically hobbled Nevada has a worse job picture.
This state's jobless rate ticked up 0.1 percent to 9.2 percent in July as the state added a modest 7,100 private-sector jobs last month. The national jobless rate is 7.4 percent, which looks pretty grim ... except when it's compared with Illinois'.
We are not creating many jobs here. We are not competing. We are being left behind.
So pardon us if we don't get too excited by the celebratory news release issued Monday by Gov. Pat Quinn, declaring great news on workers' compensation costs. Workers' comp is one of the most worrisome cost factors for employers, and Illinois for years has been one of the worst states in the union on workers' comp costs.
Read more at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-workcomp-20130820,0,5362618.story
