(Photo courtesy Facebook/IDES)
By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ jobs picture is spotty, depending on where you live. But new numbers show there also are gaps in the job market for young people and minorities.
New numbers from the federal government say Illinois’ unemployment rate for African Americans is the worst in the nation, at almost 13 percent.
Just over half of black adults in the state have some kind of work.
Illinois Employment Security Director Jeff Mays says many of the state’s problems with minority unemployment go back to problems in minority-heavy school districts.
“It is not a secret that the higher skilled you are, the more employable you are,” Mays said. “The further you go in education, the more employable you are.”
Gov. Bruce Rauner said earlier this week that the state must do a better job to help young people and minorities find not just work in the state, but to find careers.
Mays agrees and wants Illinois to do more to find people who have the skills that are needed in the workforce.
“We have to be sure that those kind of skills and the education … are there if we’re going to have … successful growth for the next generation and the generation after that,” Mays said.
