Don’t let the fluctuations of the growth rates of this less-populated county fool you. Although the December rate of job expansion may seem less than exciting, Kane County’s overall fourth-quarter 2014 job growth describes a healthy economy. Moreover, joblessness continued to ebb in the first few months of 2015 and first-time unemployment claims are running below the level of the previous two years. In concert, Sales surged in the final quarter of 2014. Only construction permitting showed little sign of improvement.
Between December 2013 and December 2014, Kane County generated a net gain of nearly 70 jobs, up 2.4 percent.
The strongest industry expansion occurred in other services, which includes the county’s largest employer (Best Friends Animal Sanctuary).
Leisure/hospitality services and retail trade also contributed their fair share of new employment.
The public sector showed the largest industry-level job contraction.
Kane County’s unemployment rate continued to shrink registering at 4.1 percent in March 2015. That’s down 0.7 points from a year ago.
In the first quarter of 2015, initial claims for unemployment insurance are running below the already-low counts for 2013 and 2014.
Gross taxable sales made a strong comeback in the fourth quarter. Kane County displayed a 14-percent year-to-year increase.
Although most industries contributed to the overall sales improvement, gains in accommodations proved particularly strong.
In 2014, Kane County’s construction permitting remained virtually unchanged from the previous year.
Both new residential and new nonresidential values showed little change.
Kane County experienced the slow population expansion over the past four years with some minor net out-migration occurring in 2014.
