BELVIDERE - The signs of Illinois' economic crisis are all around Ginger Tessema. Her husband's pink slip. The foreclosure signs in her neighborhood. Even the racks in her used-clothing consignment store. | THE HARDEST-HIT: Small industries | Large industries | Illinois counties

"People are holding on to things longer," said Tessema, gesturing toward an empty space at the back of the shop, Grant's Good As New, that usually is filled with clothing - especially when times are tough.

But as the worst economic downturn in decades strengthens its grip and sheds jobs at a faster pace than any time since the end of World War II, families are hunkering down and cutting back.

More than 570,000 people in Illinois were out of work in February - the most since 1983 - representing 8.6 percent of the work force.

The pain is hitting all industries - from the Chrysler plant in Belvidere to Caterpillar in Peoria; from steelmakers in Granite City to attorneys and bankers in Chicago. Cities are struggling to provide basic services. And homes continue to slip into foreclosure, as more laid-off workers miss mortgage payments.

"This recession has affected every aspect of the Illinois economy," said Edward Stuart, an economics professor at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. "Bankruptcy lawyers might be the only ones who are immune."

Numbers tell the story

The numbers help tell the story:

• Unemployment rates are in the double digits in 38 Illinois counties. The highest rate is 16.4 percent in Boone, where Tessema lives, which is heavily dependent on Belvidere's Chrysler plant.

• Illinois' home foreclosure rate ranked seventh nationally in February, according to RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure listing service. In 2008, there were 115,063 foreclosure filings and 99,488 total properties with filings, a 54.7 percent increase over 2007 and a 126 percent increase over 2006.

• Even those who aren't in foreclosure are struggling: 8.4 percent of all Illinois home loan payments were a month or more past due in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Lines snake through unemployment offices. Storefronts stand vacant. Foreclosure notices fill newspaper classified sections. And families are making hard choices.

Tessema and her husband, a production manager at an Elgin bearing company who's been working sporadically for months, have decided to pull their first-grade son from a private Lutheran school and send him to public school in the fall. They held a garage sale for the first time in years to raise money.

"It is very scary," said Tessema.

Kim Bakke sees the worry on the faces of people who come to the Rock River Valley Food Pantry in Rockford, where the number of first-time clients rose 43 percent in 2008 and includes everyone from professionals to laborers.

"People are really struggling to keep a roof over their heads," said Bakke, executive director of the pantry.

Forty-three-year-old Katherine Walker of Rockford said the pantry is a lifesaver. She's been on unemployment for about a year, after losing her job at a company that makes furnace filters. Her benefits run out in November.

"I've been looking for a job at factories, restaurants, gas stations; it doesn't matter to me what I do, but nobody's hiring," said Walker, waiting for her number to be called to pick up her box of groceries. "I've never seen it like this."

High jobless rates are affecting the entire state, blue- and white-collar workers alike.

In Peoria, long lines snaked through unemployment offices after Caterpillar Inc. shut down for a week starting March 22. More layoffs are scheduled in June, when 1,726 Illinois Caterpillar workers will be laid off for at least six months.

There are a few pockets of relative stability, mostly in agricultural areas or those with universities or large health-care or government institutions.

But even those sectors are beginning to feel the strain. In February, the University of Chicago Medical Center said it would eliminate 450 jobs and cut hundreds more through attrition. Southern Illinois University is preparing cost-reduction plans.

And while corn and soybean farmers are coming off two of their best years ever, prices are dropping and farmers' income will, too, said University of Illinois farm management specialist Dale Lattz.

Government also is struggling. Gov. Patrick Quinn has proposed a 50 percent state income tax increase to help address a projected $12 billion hole in next year's budget, the greatest deficit in state history. The agency that oversees the food-stamp program is closing 17 offices around the state, even though the need is greater. City and county officials also are finding themselves in a bind, as sales, income and property tax revenues shrink.

With the stimulus program yet to take full effect and layoffs increasing, it does not appear the economy will recover soon - perhaps the second half of the year at the earliest, said J. Fred Giertz, an economist at the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

Karyn Abraham, a Rock Valley College instructor who teaches laid-off workers how to write resumes and search for jobs, said the economic meltdown is bewildering to many who are too young to retire, yet untrained for anything other than what they've been doing for years.

"This recession is scary," said Abraham. "Jobs are gone; housing is gone. It's difficult to stay positive."

Associated Press writers David Mercer in Peoria and Jim Suhr in Granite City contributed to this story.

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Large industries make cuts

Some of Illinois' largest industries responded to the recession by scaling back dramatically.

The following is a list of the top ten industries with more than 100,000 employees that have been the hardest hit. The name of the industry is followed the number of people it employed in January 2007, when the recession began, the same figure for February 2009, and then the percent change.

1. Employment Services, 188,800, 145,100, -23

2. Specialty Trade Contractors, 166,500, 138,400, -17

3. Administrative and Support Services, 369,100, 322,700, -13

4. Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturers, 110,500, 99,000, -10

5. Credit Intermediation and Related Activities, 150,900, 135,400, -10

6. Manufacturing, 677,000, 613,900, -9

7. Retail Trade, 632,800, 594,900, -6

8. Merchant Wholesalers - Non-Durable Goods, 108,500, 102,200, -6

9. Finance and Insurance, 320,900, 305,400, -5

10. General Merchandise Stores, 135,300, 130,100, -4

SOURCE: Illinois Department of Employment Security. Not seasonally adjusted; the effects of regular or seasonal patterns have not been removed.

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Small industries hardest hit

Some Illinois industries with less than 100,000 employees have been forced to lay off up to a quarter of their job force.

These are the top 10 small Illinois industries that have been hardest hit, followed by their January 2007 work force, their February 2009 work force, and percent change between the two numbers.

1. Household Appliance Manufacturing, 4,100, 3,000, -27

2. Transportation Equipment Manufacturers, 44,700, 34,700, -22

3. Construction of Buildings, 55,100, 43,900, -20

4. Internet Service Providers, 11,400, 9,700, -15

5. Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores, 24,100, 20,700, -14

6. Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturers, 16,300, 14,200, -13

7. Primary Metal Manufacturing, 24,500, 21,900, -11

8. Furniture and Related Product Manufacturers, 17,400, 15,600, -10

9. Printing and Related Support Activities, 41,400, 37,200, -10

10. Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, and Music Stores, 26,700, 24,000, -10

SOURCE: Illinois Department of Employment Security. Not seasonally adjusted; the effects of regular or seasonal patterns have not been removed.

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Hardest-hit Illinois counties

Some of Illinois' smallest counties are seeing the highest unemployment rates in the state.

The counties below rank highest in unemployment. The first set of numbers for each county is from January 2007, before the recession began; it lists the labor force, employed, unemployed, and unemployment rate. The second set is from February 2009, the most recent information available.

1. Boone County, 26,674, 24,439, 2,235, 8.4; 27,335, 22,853, 4,482, 16.4

2. Putnam County, 3,210, 2,958, 252, 7.9; 3,252, 2,792, 460, 14.1

3. Winnebago County, 147,270, 138,026, 9,244, 6.3; 148,326, 128,208, 20,118, 13.6

4. Clark County, 9,203, 8,589, 614, 6.7; 8,364, 7,241, 1,123, 13.4

5. Franklin County, 18,068, 16,504, 1,564, 8.7; 17,082, 14,965, 2,117, 12.4

6. LaSalle County, 58,730, 54,339, 4,391, 7.5; 58,224, 51,025, 7,199, 12.4

7. Grundy County, 25,488, 23,634, 1,854, 7.3; 26,280, 23,043, 3,237, 12.3

8. Mason County, 7,389, 6,833, 556, 7.5; 7,088, 6,227, 861, 12.1

9. Montgomery County, 13,589, 12,517, 1,072, 7.9; 13,278, 11,665, 1,613, 12.1

10. Ogle County, 27,847, 26,031, 1,816, 6.5; 27,729, 24,368, 3,361, 12.1

SOURCE: Illinois Department of Employment Security. Not seasonally adjusted; the effects of regular or seasonal patterns have not been removed.