Still, Fitch said even with the recent acceleration in out-migration, it is a “long-established phenomenon that has not prevented the state’s economy from continuing a long pattern of overall growth.” The report said one research study that compiled migration data going to 1900 said the state has seen “virtually uninterrupted” out-migration since the mid-1920s with rates in the late 1970s and early 1980s comparable to what Illinois is currently seeing.