Department of Numbers

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois Job Growth

There were 4,769,600 jobs in Chicago, Illinois in January 2023 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 4,700,635 employed persons for the month. Chicago added 13,100 jobs in January 2023 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 16,353 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Chicago job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey January 2023 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 4,769,600 +13,100 +127,800
CPS 4,700,635 +16,353 +64,688

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 4,786,100. Since then 16,500 jobs have been lost in Chicago according to the employer survey. From a trough of 4,112,200 in April 2020, Chicago has gained 657,400 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 4,812,999 for Chicago in February 2020. 112,364 jobs have been lost in Chicago since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 4,017,180, Chicago has added 683,455 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through January 2023

Chicago, Illinois Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
January 2023 4,769,600 13,100 4,700,635 16,353
December 2022 4,756,500 7,700 4,684,282 185
November 2022 4,748,800 16,400 4,684,097 -3,363
October 2022 4,732,400 -5,300 4,687,460 -5,860
September 2022 4,737,700 10,100 4,693,320 -4,763
August 2022 4,727,600 10,400 4,698,083 -1,562
July 2022 4,717,200 32,800 4,699,645 -7,583
June 2022 4,684,400 -4,500 4,707,228 -2,311
May 2022 4,688,900 9,200 4,709,539 6,942
April 2022 4,679,700 8,800 4,702,597 11,824
March 2022 4,670,900 11,900 4,690,773 24,251
February 2022 4,659,000 17,200 4,666,522 30,575

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