Employment decreases in the Sycamore and DeKalb area are one of the lowest in the state despite record-low national unemployment rates, according to a recent Manpower survey.

Early this month, the Labor Department announced the nation’s unemployment rate of 4.7 percent was at it’s lowest since before Sept. 11, 2001. However, Illinois did not participate in the job growth and is significantly lagging behind neighboring states.

Manpower, one of the largest employment staffing firms in the nation, conducts quarterly surveys throughout the nation asking employers how many people they hired. The DeKalb and Sycamore area rated as one of the worst employment rate changes for Illinois with a net decrease of 17 percent compared to the state average net increase of 6 percent.

“That may be how we fall within the state,” said Stacy Safranek, Manpower branch manager of DeKalb and Sycamore. “However, 83 percent of the employers expecting to maintain their current staff level is very positive.”

According to State Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont), Illinois’ job growth has increase by 27,000 jobs or 0.5 percent since 2003. Meanwhile, the average state’s job growth is 2.8 percent since 2003. Illinois ranks 45th overall in the nation.

“I believe that the administration’s treatment of the business community has made them pull back from Illinois,” she said. “There have been a number of increases on fees and withdrawing tax credits that businesses used to have. The problem when you do this is you have to look at what’s going on around you. If you make Illinois out of step with the surrounding states, then business will go to other states.”

Illinois’ neighboring states, with a much smaller workforce, have all added more jobs than Illinois. Missouri added 36,000 jobs. Indiana increased its workforce by 52,000 jobs and Wisconsin by 74,000, Radogno said.

However, Gerardo Cardenas, press secretary for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, said these numbers aren’t completely accurate and Illinois may not have as much to worry about.

“According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security in 2005, we created 64,200 new jobs, which is the highest number we’ve had in five years,” he said. “Right now our preliminary Illinois unemployment numbers are 5.7 percent, the lowest since 2001. These numbers put us ahead of 44 other states and we’re optimistic that the trend is going to continue in 2006.”