Illinois staffing and recruitment for non-IT roles
Optihire Staffing recruits non-IT staff for Illinois employers: distribution and warehouse teams, plants, restaurants and hotels, construction crews and the office and customer service staff behind them. One recruiter runs your search, and you pay a fee only if you hire a candidate we introduced.
Illinois asks more of employers at the posting stage than most states. Employers with 15 or more employees must show the pay scale and benefits in job postings, and every worker earns paid leave under the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. Our briefs collect both so the posting and offer match.
Contingency Recruitment
You pay a recruitment fee only when a successful candidate is hired, subject to agreed terms.
Illinois jobs by sector
Payroll jobs in the sectors we recruit for, in thousands (September 2026, preliminary, seasonally adjusted). Sales, office and customer service roles sit inside almost every sector, so they have no row of their own.
| Sector | Jobs (thousands) |
|---|---|
| Trade, transportation and utilities | 1,214.3 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 612.2 |
| Manufacturing | 571.1 |
| Construction | 254.5 |
| All nonfarm jobs | 6,164.5 |
Where we recruit most in Illinois
About one in five Illinois payroll jobs is in trade, transportation and utilities. We recruit warehouse workers and forklift operators, and state the pay scale up front. Postings from employers with 15 or more staff must include it anyway.
We screen line cooks and front desk agents on availability and experience, and explain how paid leave accrues, because it is one of the first questions hourly candidates ask.
Manufacturing is nearly as large as hospitality in Illinois. We screen production operators and machine operators on the equipment, controls and shift patterns they know.
We recruit electricians and construction laborers. We check licenses with the authority for the job site and ask about safety training and transport.
Roles we fill in Illinois
Each guide covers what the job involves, what to screen for and the interview questions worth asking.
Hiring rules to know in Illinois
General information checked against official sources on 2026-11-11, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm with the linked agency or your own counsel before you act. See our editorial standards.
Minimum wage
The Illinois minimum wage is $15.00 an hour for employers of four or more employees, not counting family members.
Paid leave for all workers
Under the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, workers earn one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year.
Source: Illinois Department of Labor: Paid Leave for All Workers Act
Pay scale in job postings
Since January 1, 2025, employers with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale and benefits in specific job postings.
Source: Illinois Department of Labor: Equal Pay Act salary transparency
New hire reporting
Report new employees to the state New Hire Directory within 20 days of their first day on the payroll.
Source: Illinois Department of Employment Security: new hire reporting
Workplace safety
Illinois' OSHA-approved State Plan covers only state and local government workers. Private employers fall under federal OSHA.
Hiring in Illinois?
Tell us the role, the site location, the shift and the pay range. You pay a recruitment fee only when a successful candidate is hired, subject to agreed terms.
Hiring in more than one state? See every state hiring guide or read how we screen candidates.