Department of Numbers

Illinois Job Growth

There were 6,145,900 jobs in Illinois in October 2023 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 6,154,529 employed persons for the month. Illinois lost 15,000 jobs in October 2023 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS employment measure fell by 10,552 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). Also available is Illinois job growth compared to other states.

Employment Survey October 2023 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 6,145,900 -15,000 +65,300
CPS 6,154,529 -10,552 -1,995

Illinois Employment Changes

The charts below shows the monthly job growth for Illinois as measured by the CES and CPS surveys. To illustrate the trend, the 3 month moving average change in employment is shown in green.

CES Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

CPS Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

Total Employment in Illinois

CES employment peaked in September 2023 for Illinois at 6,160,900. Since then 15,000 jobs have been lost in Illinois according to the employer survey.

CPS employment in Illinois reached a maximum of 6,334,043 in January 2008. 179,514 jobs have been lost in Illinois since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 5,137,718, Illinois has added 1,016,811 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through October 2023

Illinois Employment History

Date CES
Employment
CES
Month/Month
CPS
Employment
CPS
Month/Month
October 2023 6,145,900 -15,000 6,154,529 -10,552
September 2023 6,160,900 11,400 6,165,081 -13,866
August 2023 6,149,500 3,800 6,178,947 -13,365
July 2023 6,145,700 3,400 6,192,312 -9,639
June 2023 6,142,300 9,700 6,201,951 -8,540
May 2023 6,132,600 5,400 6,210,491 3,088
April 2023 6,127,200 8,800 6,207,403 14,128
March 2023 6,118,400 6,400 6,193,275 8,755
February 2023 6,112,000 8,100 6,184,520 8,614
January 2023 6,103,900 12,300 6,175,906 3,622
December 2022 6,091,600 -4,800 6,172,284 8,670
November 2022 6,096,400 15,800 6,163,614 7,090