Chester, IL jobs, layoffs and employers
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Show me jobs near meJobs in Chester
- MEDICAL DIRECTORState of Illinois
- OFFICE ASSOCIATEState of Illinois
- Sales Representative - No Experience RequiredNuckolls
Employers hiring most in Chester
- State of Illinois2 open roles
- Nuckolls1 open role
Chester layoffs
No layoff notices naming Chester in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.
Logan County outlook: Steady
Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.
- Private-sector jobs down 9.4% from 2022 to 2025
- Population down 2.5% from 2020 to 2025
- Unemployment 3.8%, down 1.0 points from a year ago
- Sectors losing the most jobs: manufacturing (−436 jobs)
Local job-market news
Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in Chester. Each link goes to the publisher.
- Washington Post plans layoffs tied to Springfield printing plant closureFFXnow · Oct 15, 2026
- Washington Post to lay off more than 100 workers as it closes Springfield printing plantThe Business Journals · Oct 14, 2026
- Washington Post to Lay Off 118 Workers in Printing Plant RelocationTheWrap · Oct 14, 2026
- Some Washington Post printing facility employees to be laid off as operation moves from Springfield to DullesWUSA9 · Oct 13, 2026
- NPR Illinois to relocate on the UIS campus in 2027NPR Illinois · Oct 12, 2026
Learn and get funded in Chester
- Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
- Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
- Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
- Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.
Workforce development and job centers
The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Chester. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.
Laid off in Illinois? How to file for unemployment in Illinois (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).
- Land of Lincoln Workforce Alliance Illinois workNet Center
Cass, Christian, Logan, Menard, Sangamon
Southwestern Illinois WorkNet Center - Randolph County
Chester · Affiliate · 618-826-4709
Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Logan County economy
3.8%
unemployment, Sep 2026
4.8% the month before
10,596
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
27,870
people in Logan County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$64,188
median household income
Source: Census ACS
33%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS
Laid off or looking for work in Chester?
See what to do first and the jobs open near you.
See your options after a layoffSources: Layoff notices from Illinois’s published record; job counts from our live job board, taken from employers’ own career sites; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers; Census Bureau and BLS for county figures. Illinois unemployment benefits and severance rules.
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