Job Layoffs Cause the Unemployment Rate to Rise


by Dwayne T. Ervin

The unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent nationally and 6.8 percent in Illinois, while employment overall continued to fall in construction, manufacturing and in several service-providing industries. Health care and mining on the other hand, continued to add jobs according to a recent report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U. S. Department of Labor.

Due to stability in the health care profession, one local economist Dr. Edward Stuart, a professor of economics at Northeastern Illinois University Chicago is optimistic that the job search time for Michael Reese Hospital employees affected by a possible closing, should be brief. Michael Reese, a 450-bed facility was founded in 1881 and initially opened its doors to provide care to poor immigrants and the underserved. Although a specific date for the closing could not be confirmed by press time, the issue surrounding the closing is currently pending in court.

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