Total nonfarm employment in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 4,510,600 in August 2014, up 38,300 or 0.9 percent over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.8 percent. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that the Chicago area has recorded over-the-year job growth of at least 21,000 since October 2010. (See chart 1 and table 1. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

The Chicago metropolitan area is made up of three metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville Metropolitan Division, which accounted for 85 percent of the area’s workforce, added 33,600 jobs from August a year ago. (See table 1.) Employment in the Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. Metropolitan Division grew by 4,100 while employment in the Gary, Ind. Metropolitan Division recorded little change over the year.

Industry employment

The largest over-the-year employment increase in the Chicago metropolitan area in August 2014 was in professional and business services, up 18,600. The local area’s 2.4-percent rate of job growth in this supersector was less than the 3.5-percent gain nationwide. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Professional and business services, Chicago’s second-largest supersector, has recorded over-the-year employment gains of more than 13,000 each month since June 2010.

Construction employment expanded in the local area by 6,900 or 4.3 percent from August a year ago. Nationally, during the same period, the rate of job growth was 3.9 percent. Chicago’s construction supersector had over-the-year employment gains of 4,000 or more for each month since June 2014.

Leisure and hospitality employment increased by 5,900, a 1.3-percent gain from August 2013 to August 2014. Nationwide, employment in this supersector rose 2.4 percent from August a year ago. Locally, leisure and hospitality has experienced consecutive over-the-year employment gains since August 2010.

Government added 3,900 jobs from August a year ago. The 0.7-percent rate of local job growth exceeded the 0.2-percent increase nationwide. Locally, this supersector has registered over-the-year employment gains of 1,500 or more since November 2013.

Two other local supersectors recorded over-the-year employment gains of more than 3,000. Education and health services gained 3,400 jobs in the Chicago area, a 0.5-percent increase while employment in trade, transportation and utilities rose by 3,300, or 0.4 percent from last August. Nationally, these sectors recorded gains of 1.8 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively.

In contrast, two local supersectors recorded over-the-year employment losses of more than 1,000 in August 2014. Manufacturing lost 2,300 jobs in the Chicago area, a 0.6-percent decrease while employment in financial activities fell by 1,300, or 0.4 percent from last August. Nationally, these sectors recorded gains of 1.4 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Chicago-Joliet-Naperville was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in August 2014. All of these areas experienced over-the-year job growth, with six exceeding or matching the national average of 1.8 percent. The fastest rate of job growth was registered in Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, up 3.9 percent, more than double that for the nation. Detroit-Warren-Livonia had the smallest increase, up 0.1 percent. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area added the largest number of jobs, 156,500, since August 2013. Two other metropolitan areas gained more than 100,000 jobs—Houston (107,400) and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (101,500). Detroit recorded the smallest employment gain over the year, up 2,700 jobs, and was the only area of the 12 to add fewer than 10,000 jobs.

Professional and business services led employment growth in 6 of the 12 metropolitan areas over the year: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont. (See table 2.) Education and health services recorded the largest gains in four areas: Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Houston, New York, and Philadelphia.

Over the year, government recorded the largest loss of jobs in two areas—New York and Philadelphia. Manufacturing lost the most jobs in two areas—Chicago and Los Angeles. Dallas, Houston, and Miami experienced no annual job losses in any supersector.

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Definitions. Employment data refer to persons on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. Persons are counted at their place of work rather than at their place of residence; those appearing on more than one payroll are counted on each payroll. Industries are classified on the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. The employment data are estimated using a "link relative" technique in which a ratio (link relative) of current-month employment to that of the previous month is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are obtained by multiplying the estimates for the previous month by these ratios. Small-domain models are used as the official estimators for the approximately 39 percent of CES published series which have insufficient sample for direct sample-based estimates.

Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports that are submitted by employers who are covered under state unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The benchmark information is used to adjust the monthly estimates between the new benchmark and the preceding one and also to establish the level of employment for the new benchmark month. Thus, the benchmarking process establishes the level of employment, and the sample is used to measure the month-to-month changes in the level for the subsequent months.

Reliability of the estimates.  The estimates presented in this release are based on sample survey, administrative data, and modeling and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Sampling error is a measure of sampling variability—that is, variation that occurs by chance because a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed. Survey data also are subject to nonsampling errors, such as those which can be introduced into the data collection and processing operations. Estimates not directly derived from sample surveys are subject to additional errors resulting from the specific estimation processes used. The sums of individual items may not always equal the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates.  Measures of sampling error are available for state CES data at the total nonfarm and supersector level and for metropolitan area CES data. Information on recent benchmark revisions for states is available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/sae.

Area definitions.  The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget dated December 1, 2009. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter Counties in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

• The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois.
• The Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Lake County in Illinois and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.
• The Gary, Ind. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter Counties in Indiana.

Additional information

More complete information on the technical procedures used to develop these estimates and additional data appear in Employment and Earnings, which is available on line at www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm. Industry employment data for states and metropolitan areas from the Current Employment Statistics program are also available in the above mentioned news releases and from the Internet at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request Voice phone: (202) 691-5200, Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, the United States and the Chicago metropolitan area and its components, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Aug 2013	June 2014	July 2014	Aug 2014 (P)	Change from Aug 2013 to Aug 2014
					Number	Percent
United States
Total nonfarm	136,477	139,772	138,662	138,989	2,512	1.8
Mining and logging	887	916	931	936	49	5.5
Construction	6,114	6,207	6,315	6,352	238	3.9
Manufacturing	12,088	12,210	12,215	12,254	166	1.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	25,901	26,441	26,441	26,423	522	2.0
Information	2,683	2,674	2,688	2,683	0	0.0
Financial activities	7,950	7,999	8,028	8,022	72	0.9
Professional and business services	18,792	19,353	19,360	19,444	652	3.5
Education and health services	20,842	21,271	21,164	21,213	371	1.8
Leisure and hospitality	14,945	15,270	15,345	15,298	353	2.4
Other services	5,507	5,572	5,574	5,554	47	0.9
Government	20,768	21,859	20,601	20,810	42	0.2
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm	4,472.3	4,527.3	4,505.7	4,510.6	38.3	0.9
Mining and logging	1.6	1.4	1.4	1.4	-0.2	-12.5
Construction	160.4	163.1	167.0	167.3	6.9	4.3
Manufacturing	411.2	405.9	407.8	408.9	-2.3	-0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	900.1	904.5	903.0	903.4	3.3	0.4
Information	80.7	80.6	80.9	80.6	-0.1	-0.1
Financial activities	291.9	290.7	291.7	290.6	-1.3	-0.4
Professional and business services	780.4	790.8	794.5	799.0	18.6	2.4
Education and health Services	670.3	683.5	673.7	673.7	3.4	0.5
Leisure and hospitality	446.5	451.3	449.0	452.4	5.9	1.3
Other services	193.9	196.1	194.5	194.1	0.2	0.1
Government	535.3	559.4	542.2	539.2	3.9	0.7
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	3,797.4	3,840.5	3,823.6	3,831.0	33.6	0.9
Mining and logging	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.2	-0.1	-7.7
Construction	129.7	133.5	136.8	139.6	9.9	7.6
Manufacturing	317.2	312.7	314.6	316.0	-1.2	-0.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	755.9	759.0	756.4	758.0	2.1	0.3
Information	74.7	74.8	75.1	74.8	0.1	0.1
Financial activities	261.0	259.3	260.1	259.1	-1.9	-0.7
Professional and business services	687.0	696.4	700.0	704.3	17.3	2.5
Education and health services	578.6	589.6	580.1	580.6	2.0	0.3
Leisure and hospitality	371.6	375.2	371.4	374.7	3.1	0.8
Other services	168.8	170.6	169.1	168.8	0.0	0.0
Government	451.6	468.2	458.8	453.9	2.3	0.5
Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	402.0	409.9	409.5	406.1	4.1	1.0
Mining and logging	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0
Construction	12.4	12.1	12.5	12.2	-0.2	-1.6
Manufacturing	58.0	57.4	57.4	57.3	-0.7	-1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	85.4	86.0	87.0	86.9	1.5	1.8
Information	3.9	3.7	3.7	3.7	-0.2	-5.1
Financial activities	22.1	22.5	22.7	22.6	0.5	2.3
Professional and business services	70.9	71.5	71.8	71.9	1.0	1.4
Education and health services	45.6	47.5	47.5	47.0	1.4	3.1
Leisure and hospitality	42.2	41.7	42.9	42.4	0.2	0.5
Other services	12.1	12.3	12.2	12.1	0.0	0.0
Government	49.3	55.1	51.7	49.9	0.6	1.2
Gary, IN Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	272.9	276.9	272.6	273.5	0.6	0.2
Mining and logging	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	-0.1	-50.0
Construction	18.3	17.5	17.7	15.5	-2.8	-15.3
Manufacturing	36.0	35.8	35.8	35.6	-0.4	-1.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	58.8	59.5	59.6	58.5	-0.3	-0.5
Information	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1	0.0	0.0
Financial activities	8.8	8.9	8.9	8.9	0.1	1.1
Professional and business services	22.5	22.9	22.7	22.8	0.3	1.3
Education and health services	46.1	46.4	46.1	46.1	0.0	0.0
Leisure and hospitality	32.7	34.4	34.7	35.3	2.6	8.0
Other services	13.0	13.2	13.2	13.2	0.2	1.5
Government	34.4	36.1	31.7	35.4	1.0	2.9
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Aug 2013	June 2014	July 2014	Aug 2014 (P)	Change from Aug 2013 to Aug 2014
					Number	Percent
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
Total nonfarm	2,419.2	2,463.9	2,464.7	2,470.6	51.4	2.1
Mining and logging	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2	0.0	0.0
Construction	94.3	97.5	97.7	98.1	3.8	4.0
Manufacturing	149.3	153.2	153.7	154.2	4.9	3.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	538.2	548.6	551.0	549.5	11.3	2.1
Information	85.2	86.7	87.4	87.2	2.0	2.3
Financial activities	157.9	160.0	162.3	161.5	3.6	2.3
Professional and business services	439.8	453.6	458.2	457.4	17.6	4.0
Education and health services	294.5	292.2	291.8	295.8	1.3	0.4
Leisure and hospitality	252.9	263.7	264.4	261.4	8.5	3.4
Other services	94.2	92.3	92.2	92.6	-1.6	-1.7
Government	311.7	314.9	304.8	311.7	0.0	0.0
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,551.8	2,622.0	2,610.8	2,591.9	40.1	1.6
Mining and logging	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	95.8	93.0	96.5	96.0	0.2	0.2
Manufacturing	194.2	195.5	195.2	195.4	1.2	0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	409.5	421.3	418.9	405.4	-4.1	-1.0
Information	75.3	78.6	79.4	79.8	4.5	6.0
Financial activities	175.2	174.2	176.1	176.2	1.0	0.6
Professional and business services	441.4	447.3	450.9	451.0	9.6	2.2
Education and health services	522.8	539.5	543.8	541.0	18.2	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	259.8	262.5	265.0	267.0	7.2	2.8
Other services	101.8	103.0	104.7	104.1	2.3	2.3
Government	275.4	306.5	279.7	275.4	0.0	0.0
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,472.3	4,527.3	4,505.7	4,510.6	38.3	0.9
Mining and logging	1.6	1.4	1.4	1.4	-0.2	-12.5
Construction	160.4	163.1	167.0	167.3	6.9	4.3
Manufacturing	411.2	405.9	407.8	408.9	-2.3	-0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	900.1	904.5	903.0	903.4	3.3	0.4
Information	80.7	80.6	80.9	80.6	-0.1	-0.1
Financial activities	291.9	290.7	291.7	290.6	-1.3	-0.4
Professional and business services	780.4	790.8	794.5	799.0	18.6	2.4
Education and health services	670.3	683.5	673.7	673.7	3.4	0.5
Leisure and hospitality	446.5	451.3	449.0	452.4	5.9	1.3
Other services	193.9	196.1	194.5	194.1	0.2	0.1
Government	535.3	559.4	542.2	539.2	3.9	0.7
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,107.5	3,216.6	3,202.8	3,209.0	101.5	3.3
Mining, logging, and construction	180.5	191.1	191.2	193.0	12.5	6.9
Manufacturing	258.6	257.9	258.6	258.7	0.1	0.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	643.2	663.7	664.3	665.2	22.0	3.4
Information	80.2	81.0	80.5	80.2	0.0	0.0
Financial activities	256.4	255.5	256.3	257.5	1.1	0.4
Professional and business services	489.7	522.3	525.4	529.5	39.8	8.1
Education and health services	384.2	392.4	389.9	390.7	6.5	1.7
Leisure and hospitality	323.1	338.7	337.1	333.2	10.1	3.1
Other services	112.6	114.4	115.1	114.4	1.8	1.6
Government	379.0	399.6	384.4	386.6	7.6	2.0
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI
Total nonfarm	1,867.8	1,896.9	1,865.1	1,870.5	2.7	0.1
Mining, logging, and construction	62.4	62.9	64.5	65.8	3.4	5.4
Manufacturing	232.5	238.4	230.8	237.0	4.5	1.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	350.5	355.9	354.2	353.1	2.6	0.7
Information	27.4	27.4	27.4	27.3	-0.1	-0.4
Financial activities	104.5	98.3	98.1	97.8	-6.7	-6.4
Professional and business services	360.2	365.3	359.3	366.2	6.0	1.7
Education and health services	294.6	298.5	297.4	293.7	-0.9	-0.3
Leisure and hospitality	185.2	186.2	185.7	183.2	-2.0	-1.1
Other services	78.3	77.0	76.5	76.3	-2.0	-2.6
Government	172.2	187.0	171.2	170.1	-2.1	-1.2
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
Total nonfarm	2,789.0	2,895.3	2,892.7	2,896.4	107.4	3.9
Mining and logging	108.9	114.6	116.4	117.8	8.9	8.2
Construction	190.5	196.6	195.7	201.4	10.9	5.7
Manufacturing	252.8	260.5	261.5	262.2	9.4	3.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	570.8	583.1	585.4	584.8	14.0	2.5
Information	32.8	33.2	33.3	33.3	0.5	1.5
Financial activities	144.4	145.5	146.5	147.1	2.7	1.9
Professional and business services	431.6	443.1	446.1	447.6	16.0	3.7
Education and health services	335.4	347.6	348.5	354.4	19.0	5.7
Leisure and hospitality	276.9	290.0	291.3	287.6	10.7	3.9
Other services	98.9	102.6	103.5	102.4	3.5	3.5
Government	346.0	378.5	364.5	357.8	11.8	3.4
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
Total nonfarm	5,551.5	5,687.8	5,622.8	5,638.5	87.0	1.6
Mining and logging	5.2	5.4	5.5	5.6	0.4	7.7
Construction	198.4	210.0	207.8	209.5	11.1	5.6
Manufacturing	525.9	510.3	511.0	511.3	-14.6	-2.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,031.9	1,043.0	1,041.7	1,041.4	9.5	0.9
Information	224.6	231.6	229.0	230.0	5.4	2.4
Financial activities	326.0	322.5	321.2	321.8	-4.2	-1.3
Professional and business services	859.0	884.1	887.9	894.8	35.8	4.2
Education and health services	890.6	922.0	909.8	916.8	26.2	2.9
Leisure and hospitality	636.2	649.2	650.3	649.4	13.2	2.1
Other services	191.2	197.9	196.5	197.3	6.1	3.2
Government	662.5	711.8	662.1	660.6	-1.9	-0.3
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,336.3	2,391.2	2,379.5	2,401.9	65.6	2.8
Mining and logging	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	96.0	101.5	101.0	102.8	6.8	7.1
Manufacturing	78.0	79.3	78.4	78.6	0.6	0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	545.6	563.2	563.9	564.0	18.4	3.4
Information	46.2	46.6	46.5	46.7	0.5	1.1
Financial activities	165.5	168.9	169.3	168.6	3.1	1.9
Professional and business services	371.8	384.6	382.9	384.2	12.4	3.3
Education and health services	343.8	351.3	349.3	351.0	7.2	2.1
Leisure and hospitality	279.8	297.4	291.7	288.8	9.0	3.2
Other services	110.2	115.5	115.6	115.1	4.9	4.4
Government	298.8	282.3	280.3	301.5	2.7	0.9
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	8,679.7	8,918.7	8,873.8	8,836.2	156.5	1.8
Mining, logging, and construction	334.7	330.9	334.8	334.3	-0.4	-0.1
Manufacturing	357.2	358.5	354.3	356.1	-1.1	-0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,592.5	1,647.2	1,632.9	1,634.0	41.5	2.6
Information	280.0	272.9	275.4	276.4	-3.6	-1.3
Financial activities	747.3	742.1	747.8	745.9	-1.4	-0.2
Professional and business services	1,405.1	1,425.0	1,430.2	1,435.1	30.0	2.1
Education and health services	1,568.8	1,656.8	1,636.7	1,632.4	63.6	4.1
Leisure and hospitality	820.1	849.6	854.6	845.2	25.1	3.1
Other services	383.0	392.1	390.7	389.6	6.6	1.7
Government	1,191.0	1,243.6	1,216.4	1,187.2	-3.8	-0.3
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,726.4	2,798.1	2,763.9	2,751.1	24.7	0.9
Mining, logging, and construction	106.8	110.5	115.3	114.3	7.5	7.0
Manufacturing	180.6	179.7	179.8	178.9	-1.7	-0.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	505.6	515.0	512.5	512.5	6.9	1.4
Information	47.6	46.4	46.2	46.1	-1.5	-3.2
Financial activities	204.8	205.2	206.4	206.5	1.7	0.8
Professional and business services	438.4	446.2	447.9	444.1	5.7	1.3
Education and health services	556.4	574.9	571.2	568.4	12.0	2.2
Leisure and hospitality	252.4	259.8	256.3	254.0	1.6	0.6
Other services	122.0	123.1	120.7	120.4	-1.6	-1.3
Government	311.8	337.3	307.6	305.9	-5.9	-1.9
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Total nonfarm	2,112.3	2,166.5	2,160.7	2,170.1	57.8	2.7
Mining and logging	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.2	-0.1	-7.7
Construction	97.6	100.2	103.1	106.1	8.5	8.7
Manufacturing	117.0	117.7	118.5	118.0	1.0	0.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	345.6	350.7	352.2	353.7	8.1	2.3
Information	74.2	76.2	76.9	76.8	2.6	3.5
Financial activities	126.8	127.0	127.3	127.2	0.4	0.3
Professional and business services	423.2	433.3	436.3	437.2	14.0	3.3
Education and health services	312.7	324.0	321.9	322.0	9.3	3.0
Leisure and hospitality	245.4	252.2	251.7	255.0	9.6	3.9
Other services	80.3	80.3	80.3	81.1	0.8	1.0
Government	288.2	303.7	291.3	291.8	3.6	1.2
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,073.9	3,121.4	3,108.0	3,084.2	10.3	0.3
Mining, logging, and construction	150.8	150.7	150.5	151.7	0.9	0.6
Manufacturing	48.4	46.0	45.8	46.4	-2.0	-4.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	389.3	396.5	397.5	395.1	5.8	1.5
Information	77.6	74.1	74.0	73.6	-4.0	-5.2
Financial activities	152.1	155.1	156.8	156.5	4.4	2.9
Professional and business services	713.3	712.8	713.3	707.9	-5.4	-0.8
Education and health services	385.9	391.8	390.6	387.0	1.1	0.3
Leisure and hospitality	302.7	314.1	312.9	310.7	8.0	2.6
Other services	190.2	192.8	193.6	192.9	2.7	1.4
Government	663.6	687.5	673.0	662.4	-1.2	-0.2
Footnotes (P) Preliminary