Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Illinois Job Growth

There were 4,324,300 jobs in Chicago, Illinois in March 2012 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 4,416,285 employed persons for the month. Chicago added 8,700 jobs in March 2012 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 10,892 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Chicago job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey	March 2012	Month/Month	Year/Year
CES	4,324,300	+8,700	+38,800
CPS	4,416,285	+10,892	+12,766

Note: The CPS survey data is now seasonally adjusted at the metropolitan level by with the new BLS SSA series.

Chicago, Illinois Employment Changes

The chart below shows the monthly job growth for Chicago as measured by the CES survey. To illustrate the trend, the 3 month moving average change in employment is shown in green. The CPS data is not shown since it is not seasonally adjusted at the metropolitan level.

CES Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

CPS Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

Total Employment for Chicago, Illinois

CES employment for Chicago peaked in February 2001 at 4,593,000. Since then 268,700 jobs have been lost in Chicago according to the employer survey. From a trough of 4,229,400 in December 2009, Chicago has gained 94,900 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 4,678,743 for Chicago in January 2008. 262,458 jobs have been lost in Chicago since then according to the household survey. From a December 2009 low of 4,310,216, Chicago has added 106,069 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

Chicago, Illinois Employment History

Date	CES Employment	CES Month/Month	CPS Employment	CPS Month/Month
March 2012	4,324,300	8,700	4,416,285	10,892
February 2012	4,315,600	-1,300	4,405,393	20,500
January 2012	4,316,900	13,800	4,384,893	8,969
December 2011	4,303,100	-1,600	4,375,924	8,096
November 2011	4,304,700	-200	4,367,828	-3,327
October 2011	4,304,900	9,900	4,371,155	-1,173
September 2011	4,295,000	2,100	4,372,328	9,376
August 2011	4,292,900	1,100	4,362,952	-2,344
July 2011	4,291,800	400	4,365,296	-16,328
June 2011	4,291,400	1,600	4,381,624	-6,945
May 2011	4,289,800	-5,300	4,388,569	-11,018
April 2011	4,295,100	9,600	4,399,587	-3,932
March 2011	4,285,500	9,800	4,403,519	-2,026