Where Illinois Ranks on the 'Best States for Jobs' List

With over 164,000 new jobs added nationally in April 2018 alone and the unemployment rate at the lowest it’s been since 2000 being celebrated, how does that translate to Illinois?

In two words: So-so. There's a reason Illinois leads the Midwest in "outbound migration," or what you might call "leaving."

Personal-finance site WalletHub did what they do so well--crunch the numbers in a state-by-state comparison called "2018’s Best & Worst States for Jobs." Here's what they looked at to make the determinations:

In order therefore to determine the most attractive states for employment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 29 key indicators of job-market strength, opportunity and a healthy economy. Our data set ranges from employment growth to median annual income to average commute time.

First, let's take a look at 2018's top 5 best states for jobs:

1) Washington

2) Colorado

3) Minnesota

4) Utah

5) New Hampshire

Next, onto the 5 worst states for jobs:

46) Pennsylvania

47) Louisiana

48) Kentucky

49) Mississippi

50) West Virginia