More than 200 jobs in Illinois could soon be created, according to Coles Together.

Leaders of that group recently announced that a new manufacturing firm and warehouse and transport company in Coles County could result in the creation of 280 jobs and $40 million worth of investments. Names of the companies have not yet been revealed so as to not jeopardize ongoing negotiations.

According to an article by the Journal Gazette-Times Courier Online, Coles Together also has been working on the FutureGen Alliance, a group of energy companies that have ties to coal use or production. That project recently received a federal commitment of $1.073 billion.

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Anyone with, or looking for, an Illinois restaurant job shouldn’t have too much trouble finding employment this summer.

The National Restaurant Association recently released its employment projections for this summer. Throughout the country, eating and drinking places are projected to add 381,800 jobs during the summer, a 4.1 percent increase from March. The nearly 1 million restaurants throughout the country remain one of the largest overall employers, with a total of 13 million workers. And that number is expected to increase by 2 million during the next 10 years.

The State of Illinois came in sixth as far as the states expected to add the most restaurant jobs this summer. New York came in first with an expected 32,900 jobs, followed by California with 30,900 jobs, Texas with 26,400 jobs, Massachusetts with 23,600 jobs, New Jersey with 19,600 jobs, Illinois with 19,300 jobs and Ohio with 19,000 jobs. Maine and Alaska are expected to see the largest proportional increases this summer, at 29.2 percent and 25.1 percent, respectively.

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Tens of thousands of Illinois government jobs could soon be lost if the state doesn’t find another way to fix its current budget deficit.

The State of Illinois recently announced that more than 10,000 employees could lose their jobs because of budget problems, according to an article by The State Journal-Register. And even if some alternatives are reached, including cost-cutting measures and a tax increase, the administration has said some layoffs will most likely still be necessary.

In an effort to find alternative solutions, Gov. Pat Quinn‘s administration and other officials are scheduled to meet with officials from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees today to discuss ways to reduce the number of layoffs. That union represents about 35,000 state workers.

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Hospitality jobs in Illinois, along with other tourism jobs, play a large part in the state’s economy.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity recently announced that the state’s tourism industry generated billions of dollars for local economies and supported hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout the state during 2008. The economic impact of tourism increased by more than $883 million to a record $30.8 billion and the travel industry created 303,500 jobs.

“Despite the national economic downturn, Illinois continues to attract visitors from near and far to explore all our state has to offer,” Warren Ribley, director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, said. “Visitors are staying in our state longer and spending more of their money than ever before, creating good jobs for the hard-working people of our state. Tourism remains a powerful driver in the Illinois economy.”

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Thousands of Illinois jobs were lost again during April as the state’s unemployment rate continued to rise and most industries continued to shed jobs.

During April, the state’s unemployment rate increased from 9 percent to 9.4 percent, which is higher than the national unemployment rate of 8.9 percent. The state had a total non-farm employment of 5,719,800 workers during April, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 5,742,900 workers during March and a 4.3 percent decrease from last year.

Illinois‘ construction industry once again took the biggest hit when compared to last year. That industry employed 228,100 workers during April, down from 232,900 workers during March and a 12.8 percent decrease from last year.

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