Department of Numbers

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois Job Growth

There were 4,775,200 jobs in Chicago, Illinois in October 2023 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 4,698,308 employed persons for the month. Chicago lost 16,100 jobs in October 2023 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment fell by 6,591 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Chicago job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey October 2023 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 4,775,200 -16,100 +42,800
CPS 4,698,308 -6,591 -32,134

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 September 2023 at 4,791,300. Since then 16,100 jobs have been lost in Chicago according to the employer survey.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 4,784,903 for Chicago in February 2020. 86,595 jobs have been lost in Chicago since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 3,914,359, Chicago has added 783,949 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through October 2023

Chicago, Illinois Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
October 2023 4,775,200 -16,100 4,698,308 -6,591
September 2023 4,791,300 9,700 4,704,899 -14,960
August 2023 4,781,600 5,600 4,719,859 -15,502
July 2023 4,776,000 1,400 4,735,361 -12,234
June 2023 4,774,600 2,300 4,747,595 -11,280
May 2023 4,772,300 1,800 4,758,875 -1,503
April 2023 4,770,500 8,600 4,760,378 9,250
March 2023 4,761,900 2,100 4,751,128 2,954
February 2023 4,759,800 -2,100 4,748,174 8,044
January 2023 4,761,900 5,400 4,740,130 8,652
December 2022 4,756,500 7,700 4,731,478 406
November 2022 4,748,800 16,400 4,731,072 630

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