Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois Job Growth

There were 4,182,700 jobs in Chicago, Illinois in May 2020 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 4,066,347 employed persons for the month. Chicago added 34,700 jobs in May 2020 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 192,130 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Chicago job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey	May 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
CES	4,182,700	+34,700	-579,900
CPS	4,066,347	+192,130	-604,365

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 charts below show the monthly job growth for Chicago 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 for Chicago, Illinois

CES employment for Chicago peaked in January 2020 at 4,783,900. Since then 601,200 jobs have been lost in Chicago according to the employer survey. From a trough of 4,148,000 in April 2020, Chicago has gained 34,700 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 4,682,560 for Chicago in January 2019. 616,213 jobs have been lost in Chicago since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 3,874,217, Chicago has added 192,130 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

Chicago, Illinois Employment History

Date	CES Employment	CES Month/Month	CPS Employment	CPS Month/Month
May 2020	4,182,700	34,700	4,066,347	192,130
April 2020	4,148,000	-580,700	3,874,217	-746,790
March 2020	4,728,700	-50,400	4,621,007	-46,147
February 2020	4,779,100	-4,800	4,667,154	-2,628
January 2020	4,783,900	14,400	4,669,782	-4,959
December 2019	4,769,500	9,700	4,674,741	-2,139
November 2019	4,759,800	-4,300	4,676,880	-1,118
October 2019	4,764,100	5,800	4,677,998	-184
September 2019	4,758,300	-4,400	4,678,182	1,589
August 2019	4,762,700	-4,600	4,676,593	2,877
July 2019	4,767,300	900	4,673,716	2,315
June 2019	4,766,400	3,800	4,671,401	689