IL Unemployment Increase Among Largest In U.S.: Report

ILLINOIS — Unemployment claims in Illinois have gone up by 5 percent in the last week, according to a new study by WalletHub. Illinois ranks in the top 10 on WalletHub's list of States Where Unemployment Claims are Increasing the Most, based on data from the previous week.

According to the study, which was released Thursday, for every 100,000 people in the workforce in Illinois, there have been 11 unemployment claims filed in the past week.

This aligns with a national trend reflected in WalletHub's study, which showed that unemployment claims had gone up by 3.3 percent week-over-week nationwide as of May 26. Per WalletHub, 7.7 million Americans are unemployed.

According to the Illinois WorkNet Center, 10 companies were listed on the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) report for closures, layoffs or possible layoffs. This rounds out to some 1,477 workers in Illinois whose jobs will be impacted.

WalletHub's study comes amid ongoing reports of sudden closures and job cuts throughout Illinois. On June 2, close to 300 people were left unemployed when a meat packing plant in Momence closed abruptly. In May, eight hospitals in Illinois were deemed "at risk of immediate closure" amid proposed cuts, The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform shared in a study.

Here's WalletHub's list of the top 10 states in which unemployment claims increased the most since the previous week's study.

1. Kentucky: Two unemployed people per 100,000 residents
2. District of Columbia: Five unemployed people per 100,000 residents
3. North Dakota: One unemployed person per 100,000 residents
4. Minnesota: Three unemployed people per 100,000 residents
5. Tennessee: 15 unemployed people per 100,000 residents
6. Kansas: 22 unemployed people per 100,000 residents
7. Illinois: 11 unemployed people per 100,000 residents
8. Oregon: Six unemployed people per 100,000 residents
9. New Mexico: 24 unemployed people per 100,000 residents
10. Nevada: Eight unemployed people per 100,000 residents

Click the link to see WalletHub's full list of States Where Unemployment Claims are Increasing the Most.