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The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) administers Wagner-Peyser/Employment Services, Unemployment Insurance Benefits including Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits, and produces labor market and career information. Through its administration of unemployment insurance benefits and taxes, IDES collects employer and employee wage records which are a primary source of labor market information.

The Economic Information and Analysis Division at IDES produces employment/unemployment statistics and occupational wages in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Through a cooperative relationship with the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, the Division produces both 2-year and 10-year  industry and occupational employment projections. The Division is also responsible for providing Illinois residents with career information through the Career Information System.

IDES has established an Economic Services Bureau within the Economic Information and Analysis Division, in collaboration with Illinois State University, to maintain workforce data stemming from unemployment wage records, unemployment insurance benefits and employment services. The workforce outcome subject matter experts within this Bureau have developed indicators that provide accurate and reliable measures of employment and earnings workforce outcomes. This staff lends its expertise to other agencies/entities to share outcome data that has been linked-longitudinally and matched at the micro-level. A process has been developed for the management of shared data agreements that begins with legal verification, research design, and contracting of the actual agreement.

The WDQI project has been a high priority for the agency whose primary partner in this efforts has been DCEO. The focus of IDES' work through the WDQI project has been two-fold: first, the agency is producing record matching of WIOA program exiters, and has been doing that longitudinally; and second, the agency has developed newly enhanced workforce outcome measures and presented those results. The findings from the analysis of WIOA program exiters show there is a dramatic improvement in their job attainment within two quarters of program exit as compared to other Illinois workers. Additionally, the average monthly earnings for exiters improved significantly in the two years following their program exist when compared to other Illinois workers. The enhanced workforce outcome measures allow for better analysis of the stability of employment, the employment behavior of individuals while participating in the WIOA program, and what happens when they transition out.

George Putnam, Assistant Director
Economic Information & Analysis Security
george.putnam@illinois.gov