State Unemployment Office Lays Off Workers

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 15, 2013 5:45PM

In what may be looked at as a bit of irony, the Illinois Department of Employment Security announced it was closing seven offices across the state and laying off 192 workers.

The reasons IDES cited for the move were federal budget reductions; IDES is fully funded by the federal government. As fewer unemployment insurance claims are filed, less staff are needed to process them.

"A recession touches IDES in the exact opposite way that it touches the business community. In the private sector, cost-cutting decisions are required at the beginning of a recession. At federally funded IDES, cost-cutting occurs when the recession has ended and the recovery is moving forward," IDES Director Jay Rowell said. "This difficult decision reflects smaller federal discretionary spending and undoubtedly is unwelcome in many corners of our state. I hope it will encourage individuals not already doing so to consider accessing our services through the internet. More than half of those applying for benefits do so electronically, and all eligible workers receive their benefit payments electronically through direct deposit or debit card."

The fewer unemployment claims are expected to cut IDES' budget by $11 million; that shortfall is expected to be cut to $7 million thanks to the re-authorization of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. The offices slated for closure are in Centralia, DeKalb, East St. Louis, Galesburg, Jacksonville, Mattoon and Murphysboro and will happen mid-March.