Wages

CTBA working in partnership with Northern Illinois University produced the 2005 State of Working Illinois. The Report is one of the most detailed state analyses ever conducted on the Illinois economy. The Report tracks the effects of national and global economic trends on working families throughout the state and provides a wealth of information on jobs, income, and unemployment for each county in the state. The Report also identifies industrial sectors and occupational growth by sector, employment, education and income changes in each region. 

CTBA working in partnership with Northern Illinois University produced the 2007 State of Working Illinois. The Report is one of the most detailed state analyses ever conducted on the Illinois economy. The report tracks the effects of national and global economic trends on working families throughout the state and provides a wealth of information on jobs, income, and unemployment for each county in the state. The Report also identifies industrial sectors and occupational growth by sector, employment, education and income changes in each region. 

The State of Working Illinois reports document how the state’s employment patterns have changed over the last two decades. The most significant trend identified was the replacement of good-paying jobs, mainly in the manufacturing sector, by lower-paying ones, principally in service sectors. This shift has been dramatic. Manufacturing was the largest employer in Illinois in 1990, accounting for slightly more than 20 percent the state’s workers. But by 2006, the low-wage service sector was the top employer, accounting for over 30 percent of all workers in Illinois. This transition from high-wage to low-wage jobs is a topic of vital importance to the state’s economy and to the lives of working Illinoisans and their families. Consequently, Low Wage Employment provides a detailed examination of the state’s low-wage employment, identifying such factors as the occupations, earnings and demographics associated with the low-wage sector.

CTBA working in partnership with Northern Illinois University produced the 2008 State of Working Illinois. The Report is one of the most detailed state analyses ever conducted on the Illinois economy. The report tracks the effects of national and global economic trends, such as rising inequality, on working families throughout the state and provides a wealth of information on jobs, income, and unemployment for each county in the state. The Report also identifies industrial sectors and occupational growth by sector, employment, education and income changes in each region. With over 800 tables and charts, The State of Working Illinois is the comprehensive reference on the Illinois workforce.

An analysis of the state's fiscal system finds that Illinois’ state deficit will increase to more than $6 Billion over the next five years, without adding or expanding any programs. This deficit increase is the result of a tax system that does not generate enough revenue to continue funding the current level of public services into the future, adjusting solely for inflation and population growth. This fiscal mismatch is called a “structural deficit.” In addition to an unsustainable state revenue system, the study also found that increasing the number of high paying jobs in the state will not solve the problem. This limited impact of high paying jobs on the state’s ability to generate revenue is a direct result of the longstanding structural flaws in the state fiscal system that severely limit Illinois' ability to generate revenue that responds adequately to economic growth.