This morning, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released preliminary May 2015 unemployment rates for all Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). The unemployment rate measures the percentage of the local workforce that reports itself as being out of work, information that the government collects by surveying households.

Illustrated in the map and chart below, in May, an estimated 285,932 people in the 14-county Chicago metropolitan statistical area (MSA) were unemployed out of a labor force of approximately 4.888 million, resulting in a preliminary unemployment rate of 5.8% (not seasonally adjusted).

• The May 2015 unemployment rate was 1.1 points lower than May 2014 (6.9%).
• Between May 2014 and May 2015, the Chicago MSA gained an estimated 54,921 employed residents, increasing total regional employment to approximately 4.602 million (not seasonally adjusted).
• Unemployment rates were lower in May than a year earlier in 346 of 387 U.S. metros, 36 metros saw a year-over-year increase, and 5 experienced no change.

Current and historic data reflects data revisions completed on April 21, 2015. For more information about these revisions please visit the BLS website.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS and CPS)

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.