The improving job market nationwide is, ironically, creating job losses in the Galesburg area. The Illinois Department of Employment Security announced Friday that will close seven offices, including the one in Galesburg.
Officials say the closings and the loss of 192 positions, are due to reductions in federal funding, since IDES is nearly 100 percent federally funded.
"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.
Other offices slated to close are located in Centralia, DeKalb, East St. Louis, Jacksonville, Mattoon and Murphysboro. The closings are expected in mid-March.
Although Congress just re-authorized the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, a $7 million reduction still is anticipated, due to further fiscal cliff negotiations. The reductions come at a time when the IDES says claim volumes remain 38 percent higher than prior to the recession.
Clients served by the offices are encouraged to access services electronically. You can find information about unemployment benefits at www.ides.illinois.gov.
