Today, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) released preliminary December 2015 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 unemployment rate of 6.1% before seasonal adjustment – this is identical to the December 2014 rate.
  • Unemployed Chicago residents increased by 698 compared to the year prior (from 82,618 to an estimated 83,316 in December 2015).
  • The Chicago (city) economy has contracted by an estimated 530 private jobs since December 2014, mostly attributed to leisure and hospitality (-2,340) and manufacturing
  • (-3,275) industries. Despite the contraction, other industries continue to grow. The professional and business services (+3,659) and construction (+1,365) industries experienced the most year-over-year job growth.
  • The number of employed Chicago (city) residents decreased by 3,358 compared to the year prior (from 1,278,994 in December 2014 to an estimated 1,275,456 in December 2015).
The charts below summarize monthly employment trends. Data is not seasonally adjusted.

CityUnemp 012816

Notes: Rates are not adjusted for seasonality, and should be compared year-over-year. City selection based on size and availability of data. 

 

CityEmploy 012816

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

 

ChicagoJobsIndustry 012816

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.  

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