Following a modest decline for three consecutive quarters, a Bradley University study suggests the Peoria area economy has returned to where it was a year ago.
Bernie Goitein from Bradley's Foster College of Business faculty said the workplace has played an important role in the second-quarter rebound.
“Local employers posted more job openings and laid off fewer staff during the second quarter than the first,” Goitein said. “These changes on the part of the employers helped drive a 1.3 percent increase in the total of number of jobs on employer’s payrolls.”
The study—covering Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Stark and Marshall counties—also pointed to a 3 percent increase in the professional and business services sector as a leading factor to the area’s economic improvement.
“These are dominated by firms that provide temporary help services,” Goitein said. “When you look at demand and the response of a potential employer not in this industry, a quick response would be to get some help from one of these professional and business services firms.”
The study suggests long-term changes on the horizon due to an anticipated rise in Baby Boomer retirements. On a more short term basis, Goitein predicts “little overall change.”
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