News Item

01.29.2015

Local Employment Trends

Today, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) released preliminary December 2014 unemployment rates for municipalities across the state based on the current population survey (or “household survey”). The following brief summarizes this data, as well as job estimates by industry based on the Current Employment Statistics Program (or “Employer Survey”).

  • The city of Chicago posted a preliminary rate of 6.2%, before seasonal adjustment – this is down from the December 2013 rate of 9.5% and marks the city’s lowest unemployment rate since April 2008.
  • The number of Chicago (city) residents employed in December 2014 increased by 38,008 compared to the year prior (from 1,147,272 in December 2013 to an estimated 1,185,280) – this marks the fourteenth consecutive month of over-the-year increases in employed residents.
  • Unemployed Chicago residents in December 2014 dropped by 42,697 compared to the year prior (from 120,856 in December 2013 to an estimated 78,159).
  • The Chicago (city) economy has expanded by an estimated 8,711 nonfarm jobs since December 2013, mostly attributed to professional and business services (+4,891), education and health services (+3,964) and transportation and warehousing (+1,962) sectors.

The charts below summarize monthly employment trends. Data is not seasonally adjusted.

Note: Rates are not adjusted for seasonality, and should be compared year-over-year. City selection based on size and availability of data.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), IDES, California Employment Development Department, Texas Workforce Commission.

Note: Totals are not adjusted for seasonality, and should be compared year-over-year.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), IDES

The table below compares year-over-year change in jobs by industry for the city of Chicago. Data is not seasonally adjusted.

Note: Estimates are not official US Bureau of Labor Statistics Data.
Source: IDES

For more information, please visit the BLS or IDES websites.

Chaired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, World Business Chicago is the public-private partnership leading the Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs in order to drive business development, cultivate talent, and put Chicago at the forefront of the global economy.

WBC’s “Economic Briefs” track indicators from month to month to gauge the strength of several aspects of Chicago’s economy, including unemployment, population, venture capital, job openings and new hires, home sales, tourism, etc. This data provides a clear analytic framework for specific Plan strategies and initiatives. For a summary of these and other economic indicators, refer to WBC’s monthly Chicago By The Numbers

Related News

NEWS

News Item

10.13.2022

Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot & World Business Chicago Announce the Inaugural Chicago Venture Summit Future-of-Food

More than 600 founders, Fortune 500 leaders, and investors are attending Chicago’s flagship food innovation conference hosted by World Business Chicago. CHICAGO, May 26, 2022 – Chicago Mayor Lori

View article

News Item

04.11.2022

World Business Chicago at SeedCon 2022

The Rattan L. Khosa SeedCon is Chicago Booth’s flagship entrepreneurship and venture capital conference. As the world seemed to stand still amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, investors, entrepreneurs, an

View article

News Item

04.11.2022

World Business Chicago Partners with Global Fintech Leader tastytrade for ThinkChicago Fintech Summit

“Innovation is the many years of study and analysis, which then finds itself in the path of an emerging opportunity” -Linwood Ma, tastytrade CTO World Business Chicago was proud to…

View article

News Item

03.30.2022

CBO Collective Announces $1 Million Grant from Google.org to Provide Job Placement and Support to Jobseekers from Under-Resourced Chicago Communities

CHICAGO — The Community Based Organization Collective today announced a $1 million grant from Google.org to help place hundreds of jobseekers on Chicago’s South and West sides into in-demand caree

View article
Translate »