Last week, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) released preliminary November 2014 unemployment rates for municipalities across the state.

• The city of Chicago posted a preliminary rate of 6.8%, before seasonal adjustment – this is down from the November 2013 rate of 9.8% and marks the city’s lowest unemployment rate since May 2008.
• The number of Chicago residents employed in November 2014 increased by 32,326 compared to the year prior (from 1,150,736 in November 2013 to an estimated 1,183,062) – this marks the thirteenth consecutive month of over-the-year increases in employed residents.
• Unemployed Chicago residents in November 2014 dropped by 36,599 compared to the year prior (from 122,421 in November 2013 to an estimated 85,822).

The first chart below summarizes the trends in non-seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rates for Chicago and three comparison cities. The second chart illustrates the number of employed Chicago residents by month.

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