World Business Chicago tracks indicators from month to month to gauge the strength of several aspects of Chicago’s regional economy, including employment in major 
sectors, residential and office real estate data, price and purchasing indexes, and auto and truck sales. As some data is released with a two-month lag, the information summarized below reflects indicators for May 2010.
Key trends evident in this month’s “By The Numbers” include:
- Total employment continued to climb in May, reaching 4,249,700 workers from 4,199,000 in April. This marks an increase of 50,700 jobs.
- The Chicago Midwest Manufacturing Index, a monthly index tracking manufacturing activity, continued to rise in May to a value of 86.7; Chicago’s May 2010 value is now more than eight points higher than it was in May 2009.
- Unemployment in the Chicago region continued to fall, reaching 10.3 percent in May, a full percentage-point decrease since March 2010.
- The national Consumer Confidence Index rose to 62.7 in May from 57.7 in April. The annual gain was even stronger: May 2009’s value was 54.8.
- New this month, we are including freight carloads, a measure of the amount of raw materials, inputs, and supplies moving around the country by rail
In May, the Chicago region added more than 50,000 jobs and saw its unemployment rate decrease to 10.3, a sizeable figure but smaller than May 2009’s rate of 10.4 (or April 2010’s 10.7). Additionally, the Chicago Manufacturing Index continued to rise, reaching 86.7 in May. Consumer Confidence showed an annual gain of nearly 8 points between May 2009 and May 2010.
These and other trends are illustrated in this month's Chicago By The Numbers table (PDF).
