Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Chicago fell 0.1 percentage points in April 2022 to 4.4%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.2 percentage points lower than the Illinois rate. The unemployment rate in Chicago peaked in April 2020 at 18.2% and is now 13.8 percentage points lower. You can also compare Chicago unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | April 2022 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 3.6% | 0.0 | -2.4 |
| Illinois | 4.6% | -0.1 | -2.0 |
| Chicago | 4.4% | -0.1 | -2.4 |
Unemployment Rate: Chicago, Illinois, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
Chicago, Illinois Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in Chicago peaked in April 2020 at 892,043. There are now 675,832 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Chicago employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Chicago, Illinois) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | April 2022 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 216,211 | -4,163 | -108,535 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
Chicago, Illinois Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
Illinois Unemployment Rate |
Chicago Unemployment Rate |
Chicago Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 |
3.6% | — | — | — |
| April 2022 |
3.6% | 4.6% | 4.4% | 216,211 |
| March 2022 |
3.6% | 4.7% | 4.5% | 220,374 |
| February 2022 |
3.8% | 4.8% | 4.6% | 225,626 |
| January 2022 |
4.0% | 5.0% | 4.8% | 233,423 |
| December 2021 |
3.9% | 5.1% | 5.0% | 244,391 |
| November 2021 |
4.2% | 5.1% | 5.0% | 244,259 |
| October 2021 |
4.6% | 5.3% | 5.1% | 248,445 |
| September 2021 |
4.7% | 5.5% | 5.5% | 265,392 |
| August 2021 |
5.2% | 6.0% | 6.0% | 289,325 |
| July 2021 |
5.4% | 6.2% | 6.6% | 316,600 |
| June 2021 |
5.9% | 6.5% | 7.1% | 342,977 |
1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩
Department of Numbers
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