World Business Chicago tracks indicators from month to month to gauge the strength of several aspects of Chicago’s economy, including employment in major sectors, residential and office real estate data, price and purchasing indexes, freight demand, and auto and truck sales. The points below refer to October 2013 information unless otherwise noted. Employment data refers to payroll job estimates for the city of Chicago and is not adjusted for seasonality.

Key trends evident in this month’s Chicago By the Numbers include:

  • The Chicago (city) economy has expanded by an estimated 21,639 jobs since December 2012, mostly attributed to professional and business services (+9,053), education and health services (+7,444), transportation and utility (+2,755), and leisure and hospitality (+2,444) sectors.
  • Residential building permits throughout the region increased 45.7% over December 2012.
  • The Chicago Business Barometer improved by 7.2% from January 2013 to January 2014.
  • Hotel performance remained strong, with a six point YOY increase in occupancy rate and 16% YOY increase in average daily rate (ADR) since December 2012.

These and other trends are illustrated in this month’s Chicago by the Numbers.

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