Total nonfarm employment for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, metropolitan area stood at 4,704,800 in February 2024 compared to 4,694,100 a year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the employment change over the year was not statistically significant. Nationally, employment rose 1.8 percent over the year. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, is made up of four metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. Employment in Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL, was 3,752,600, accounting for 80 percent of the metropolitan area's total nonfarm employment in February 2024. Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI, employed 411,900, accounting for 9 percent of the area’s employment, while Elgin, IL, and Gary, IN, each accounted for 6 percent of the area’s employment. Employment levels for these four divisions changed little over the year.

Industry employment

In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, education and health services had the largest gain (+24,600) among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors. (See chart 2.) The Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL, division added 19,900 jobs in this supersector. The 3.3-percent gain in the metropolitan area’s education and health services supersector compared to the 4.2-percent rise on a national level.

Professional and business services lost 35,100 jobs in the metropolitan area over the year. The Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL, division lost 32,200 jobs, or 92 percent of the metropolitan area’s employment loss in this supersector. The metropolitan area had a 4.2-percent loss compared to the 0.7-percent gain for the nation.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in February 2024. Six of twelve areas gained total nonfarm payroll employment over the year. The largest job gain occurred in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (+92,300). Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, had the smallest employment increase (+33,200) among the areas with significant changes. (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, had a 2.4-percent rate of job gain. The rates of job gain in the remaining five areas with significant changes ranged from 2.2 percent in Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, to 0.9 percent in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for March 2024 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. More information about the CES data is available in the State Employment and Unemployment Summary and the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary.

Definitions. Employment data refer to persons on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the pay period which 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 2022 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. CES State and Area employment data are produced using several estimation procedures. Where possible these data are produced using a "weighted link relative" estimation technique in which a ratio of current-month weighted employment to that of the previous-month weighted employment is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are then obtained by multiplying these ratios by the previous month's employment estimates. The weighted link relative technique is utilized for data series where the sample size meets certain statistical criteria. For some employment series, the estimates are produced with a model that uses direct sample estimates (described above) combined with other regressors to compensate for smaller sample sizes.

Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports which 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. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available in the CES State and Area benchmark article.

Reliability of the estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample surveys, 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 totals shown in the same tables due to rounding.

Employment estimates. Changes in metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment are cited in the analysis of this release only if they have been determined to be statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. Reliability of state and area estimates for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on April 10, 2018. The 12 metropolitan areas discussed in this release are the metropolitan areas with the largest population according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 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-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division includes Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kendall, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois.

• The Elgin, IL Metropolitan Division includes DeKalb and Kane Counties.

• The Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division includes Lake County in Illinois and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

• The Gary, IN Metropolitan Division includes Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter Counties in Indiana.

Additional information

State and area employment data from the CES program are available on the BLS website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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

Area and Industry	Feb 2023	Dec 2023	Jan 2024	Feb 2024(p)	Feb 2023 to Feb 2024(p)
					Net change	Percent change
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm	4,694.1	4,811.7	4,675.2	4,704.8	10.7	0.2
Mining and logging	1.3	1.5	1.5	1.5	0.2	15.4
Construction	163.0	179.4	162.0	163.8	0.8	0.5
Manufacturing	412.9	420.6	416.5	419.1	6.2	1.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	962.2	995.9	962.9	952.8	-9.4	-1.0
Information	80.5	76.9	76.8	77.3	-3.2	-4.0
Financial activities	316.8	319.5	316.2	315.8	-1.0	-0.3
Professional and business services	838.5	837.9	797.8	803.4	-35.1	-4.2
Education and health services	753.0	773.3	761.1	777.6	24.6	3.3
Leisure and hospitality	440.3	463.4	446.1	448.4	8.1	1.8
Other services	192.5	196.9	196.6	199.1	6.6	3.4
Government	533.1	546.4	537.7	546.0	12.9	2.4
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	3,751.2	3,837.5	3,729.3	3,752.6	1.4	0.0
Mining and logging	1.0	1.2	1.2	1.2	0.2	20.0
Construction	121.2	133.4	119.9	121.2	0.0	0.0
Manufacturing	278.2	285.3	283.0	284.7	6.5	2.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	757.4	781.4	755.5	746.8	-10.6	-1.4
Information	73.0	70.0	69.9	70.5	-2.5	-3.4
Financial activities	276.6	279.5	276.7	276.7	0.1	0.0
Professional and business services	704.5	700.8	666.2	672.3	-32.2	-4.6
Education and health services	624.6	640.5	629.7	644.5	19.9	3.2
Leisure and hospitality	347.9	366.3	352.2	353.5	5.6	1.6
Other services	155.8	159.2	159.3	161.1	5.3	3.4
Government	411.0	419.9	415.7	420.1	9.1	2.2
Elgin, IL Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	256.5	265.9	258.4	261.8	5.3	2.1
Mining and logging	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0
Construction	12.2	13.9	12.3	12.6	0.4	3.3
Manufacturing	36.3	37.0	36.6	36.7	0.4	1.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	49.8	52.1	50.8	50.6	0.8	1.6
Information	2.3	2.2	2.2	2.2	-0.1	-4.3
Financial activities	9.6	9.9	9.8	9.8	0.2	2.1
Professional and business services	38.3	37.9	37.3	37.2	-1.1	-2.9
Education and health services	32.0	33.8	33.3	33.7	1.7	5.3
Leisure and hospitality	24.2	24.9	24.1	24.5	0.3	1.2
Other services	9.9	10.1	10.1	10.2	0.3	3.0
Government	41.8	44.0	41.8	44.2	2.4	5.7
Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	409.4	424.6	411.1	411.9	2.5	0.6
Mining and logging	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0
Construction	13.5	15.1	13.6	13.9	0.4	3.0
Manufacturing	64.1	64.0	63.2	63.6	-0.5	-0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	95.8	99.8	96.3	95.7	-0.1	-0.1
Information	3.4	2.9	2.9	2.8	-0.6	-17.6
Financial activities	21.4	20.8	20.5	20.1	-1.3	-6.1
Professional and business services	67.3	70.3	65.9	65.5	-1.8	-2.7
Education and health services	47.5	49.0	48.8	49.2	1.7	3.6
Leisure and hospitality	35.6	40.0	38.3	38.5	2.9	8.1
Other services	13.0	13.4	13.3	13.5	0.5	3.8
Government	47.7	49.2	48.2	49.0	1.3	2.7
Gary, IN Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	277.0	283.7	276.4	278.5	1.5	0.5
Mining and logging	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0
Construction	16.1	17.0	16.2	16.1	0.0	0.0
Manufacturing	34.3	34.3	33.7	34.1	-0.2	-0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	59.2	62.6	60.3	59.7	0.5	0.8
Information	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	0.0	0.0
Financial activities	9.2	9.3	9.2	9.2	0.0	0.0
Professional and business services	28.4	28.9	28.4	28.4	0.0	0.0
Education and health services	48.9	50.0	49.3	50.2	1.3	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	32.6	32.2	31.5	31.9	-0.7	-2.1
Other services	13.8	14.2	13.9	14.3	0.5	3.6
Government	32.6	33.3	32.0	32.7	0.1	0.3
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

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

Area	Feb 2023	Dec 2023	Jan 2024	Feb 2024(p)	Feb 2023 to Feb 2024(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States(1)
Total nonfarm	153,817	158,269	155,414	156,555	2,738	1.8
Mining and logging	624	642	628	631	7	1.1
Construction	7,642	8,051	7,802	7,855	213	2.8
Manufacturing	12,893	12,991	12,882	12,913	20	0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	28,602	29,648	28,769	28,663	61	0.2
Information	3,028	3,028	2,973	2,996	-32	-1.1
Financial activities	9,097	9,265	9,178	9,180	83	0.9
Professional and business services	22,533	22,965	22,548	22,683	150	0.7
Education and health services	25,069	25,980	25,754	26,129	1,060	4.2
Leisure and hospitality	15,801	16,485	16,078	16,243	442	2.8
Other services	5,724	5,846	5,794	5,819	95	1.7
Government	22,804	23,368	23,008	23,443	639	2.8
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	3,035.3	3,095.5	3,047.7	3,061.3	26.0	0.9
Mining and logging	1.9	2.1	2.1	2.1	0.2	10.5
Construction	140.3	146.6	142.8	144.1	3.8	2.7
Manufacturing	179.1	184.2	181.4	182.0	2.9	1.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	663.5	677.9	656.0	652.3	-11.2	-1.7
Information	118.7	98.2	97.2	98.1	-20.6	-17.4
Financial activities	202.6	208.0	207.6	207.8	5.2	2.6
Professional and business services	588.5	587.8	581.0	584.8	-3.7	-0.6
Education and health services	398.4	418.4	414.4	416.8	18.4	4.6
Leisure and hospitality	296.1	312.4	308.3	310.9	14.8	5.0
Other services	101.7	103.5	102.8	104.1	2.4	2.4
Government	344.5	356.4	354.1	358.3	13.8	4.0
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)
Total nonfarm	2,772.8	2,814.7	2,761.8	2,780.8	8.0	0.3
Mining, logging, and construction	122.5	128.1	122.2	120.3	-2.2	-1.8
Manufacturing	183.9	183.7	182.6	182.1	-1.8	-1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	404.0	416.6	401.9	399.1	-4.9	-1.2
Information	83.1	79.4	78.4	78.3	-4.8	-5.8
Financial activities	184.5	185.1	182.8	182.9	-1.6	-0.9
Professional and business services	526.9	529.1	521.4	523.6	-3.3	-0.6
Education and health services	606.4	615.0	609.7	624.8	18.4	3.0
Leisure and hospitality	246.2	252.7	245.7	246.8	0.6	0.2
Other services	100.1	103.5	102.5	102.1	2.0	2.0
Government	315.2	321.5	314.6	320.8	5.6	1.8
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,694.1	4,811.7	4,675.2	4,704.8	10.7	0.2
Mining and logging	1.3	1.5	1.5	1.5	0.2	15.4
Construction	163.0	179.4	162.0	163.8	0.8	0.5
Manufacturing	412.9	420.6	416.5	419.1	6.2	1.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	962.2	995.9	962.9	952.8	-9.4	-1.0
Information	80.5	76.9	76.8	77.3	-3.2	-4.0
Financial activities	316.8	319.5	316.2	315.8	-1.0	-0.3
Professional and business services	838.5	837.9	797.8	803.4	-35.1	-4.2
Education and health services	753.0	773.3	761.1	777.6	24.6	3.3
Leisure and hospitality	440.3	463.4	446.1	448.4	8.1	1.8
Other services	192.5	196.9	196.6	199.1	6.6	3.4
Government	533.1	546.4	537.7	546.0	12.9	2.4
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	4,171.6	4,303.7	4,227.0	4,246.7	75.1	1.8
Mining, logging, and construction	238.7	251.6	246.8	248.8	10.1	4.2
Manufacturing	304.2	311.2	308.4	310.5	6.3	2.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	889.6	931.6	903.0	896.1	6.5	0.7
Information	92.7	90.8	90.4	90.1	-2.6	-2.8
Financial activities	363.3	369.1	368.2	369.6	6.3	1.7
Professional and business services	778.6	784.6	766.3	778.0	-0.6	-0.1
Education and health services	494.3	511.5	508.0	511.6	17.3	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	408.4	427.0	416.6	417.6	9.2	2.3
Other services	131.7	139.2	140.5	140.2	8.5	6.5
Government	470.1	487.1	478.8	484.2	14.1	3.0
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	3,339.0	3,442.1	3,394.2	3,418.8	79.8	2.4
Mining and logging	71.4	72.2	71.2	70.9	-0.5	-0.7
Construction	232.9	234.5	229.5	234.0	1.1	0.5
Manufacturing	230.1	236.7	236.3	237.6	7.5	3.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	680.1	711.1	690.6	688.1	8.0	1.2
Information	33.3	33.1	32.7	32.5	-0.8	-2.4
Financial activities	186.7	186.7	186.0	186.9	0.2	0.1
Professional and business services	551.2	563.7	554.6	560.0	8.8	1.6
Education and health services	441.1	462.3	460.2	464.5	23.4	5.3
Leisure and hospitality	346.4	354.1	349.0	352.9	6.5	1.9
Other services	124.1	128.1	129.8	130.1	6.0	4.8
Government	441.7	459.6	454.3	461.3	19.6	4.4
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	6,204.8	6,318.0	6,200.2	6,238.3	33.5	0.5
Mining and logging	2.0	1.9	1.9	1.9	-0.1	-5.0
Construction	252.6	258.9	252.3	253.0	0.4	0.2
Manufacturing	477.5	475.8	471.5	471.6	-5.9	-1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,083.2	1,123.0	1,090.4	1,082.7	-0.5	0.0
Information	243.5	206.2	199.4	206.0	-37.5	-15.4
Financial activities	316.4	316.2	312.7	312.9	-3.5	-1.1
Professional and business services	977.9	974.7	956.1	961.7	-16.2	-1.7
Education and health services	1,160.0	1,217.1	1,203.6	1,220.4	60.4	5.2
Leisure and hospitality	743.7	770.8	749.4	757.3	13.6	1.8
Other services	207.9	216.6	212.5	215.7	7.8	3.8
Government	740.1	756.8	750.4	755.1	15.0	2.0
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,886.1	2,979.2	2,942.7	2,947.4	61.3	2.1
Construction	149.1	158.1	155.8	155.7	6.6	4.4
Manufacturing	96.4	100.7	99.0	98.8	2.4	2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	644.5	678.1	659.0	655.5	11.0	1.7
Information	57.2	55.5	54.7	55.5	-1.7	-3.0
Financial activities	214.0	220.6	217.9	216.3	2.3	1.1
Professional and business services	519.6	525.4	513.6	514.5	-5.1	-1.0
Education and health services	442.8	460.3	458.1	460.5	17.7	4.0
Leisure and hospitality	339.2	344.4	349.8	353.2	14.0	4.1
Other services	112.7	117.2	115.6	116.5	3.8	3.4
Government	309.8	318.0	318.3	320.0	10.2	3.3
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	9,911.3	10,219.5	9,967.6	10,003.6	92.3	0.9
Mining, logging, and construction	389.9	398.1	379.9	377.5	-12.4	-3.2
Manufacturing	348.1	349.4	343.1	346.5	-1.6	-0.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,659.5	1,729.2	1,668.6	1,651.1	-8.4	-0.5
Information	327.6	309.0	306.7	309.1	-18.5	-5.6
Financial activities	813.9	832.7	821.3	821.8	7.9	1.0
Professional and business services	1,634.0	1,669.0	1,610.0	1,609.8	-24.2	-1.5
Education and health services	2,188.2	2,285.6	2,258.6	2,292.5	104.3	4.8
Leisure and hospitality	856.4	914.6	872.8	877.9	21.5	2.5
Other services	399.4	411.7	406.3	404.5	5.1	1.3
Government	1,294.3	1,320.2	1,300.3	1,312.9	18.6	1.4
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	3,030.5	3,117.7	3,047.0	3,063.7	33.2	1.1
Mining, logging, and construction	120.1	122.8	117.4	117.8	-2.3	-1.9
Manufacturing	180.5	183.4	181.8	181.9	1.4	0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	543.7	563.5	541.2	534.2	-9.5	-1.7
Information	54.7	52.9	52.3	52.6	-2.1	-3.8
Financial activities	228.6	229.6	229.3	229.7	1.1	0.5
Professional and business services	492.2	496.0	487.2	488.6	-3.6	-0.7
Education and health services	697.0	727.0	713.8	728.8	31.8	4.6
Leisure and hospitality	254.8	269.3	259.1	259.7	4.9	1.9
Other services	120.7	124.0	123.3	122.3	1.6	1.3
Government	338.2	349.2	341.6	348.1	9.9	2.9
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	2,392.7	2,469.9	2,433.1	2,445.4	52.7	2.2
Mining and logging	3.2	3.7	3.7	3.8	0.6	18.8
Construction	163.2	174.2	170.5	170.5	7.3	4.5
Manufacturing	149.8	149.8	148.1	148.1	-1.7	-1.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	464.8	490.3	476.2	475.5	10.7	2.3
Information	43.9	42.1	41.2	40.7	-3.2	-7.3
Financial activities	212.5	215.5	210.6	211.3	-1.2	-0.6
Professional and business services	393.5	397.3	391.5	394.9	1.4	0.4
Education and health services	381.5	410.7	406.7	408.7	27.2	7.1
Leisure and hospitality	253.0	251.7	249.1	250.8	-2.2	-0.9
Other services	76.0	78.1	77.0	78.0	2.0	2.6
Government	251.3	256.5	258.5	263.1	11.8	4.7
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,456.6	2,490.7	2,446.0	2,450.8	-5.8	-0.2
Mining and logging	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.0	0.0
Construction	121.6	123.8	117.8	118.4	-3.2	-2.6
Manufacturing	152.8	150.8	148.2	148.6	-4.2	-2.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	348.6	359.7	350.1	346.4	-2.2	-0.6
Information	151.8	138.4	136.6	135.7	-16.1	-10.6
Financial activities	139.0	137.7	135.0	134.6	-4.4	-3.2
Professional and business services	511.7	506.3	496.4	498.4	-13.3	-2.6
Education and health services	387.9	409.9	404.6	408.2	20.3	5.2
Leisure and hospitality	241.3	253.8	247.5	249.5	8.2	3.4
Other services	84.1	86.4	85.3	86.0	1.9	2.3
Government	317.4	323.5	324.1	324.6	7.2	2.3
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,327.8	3,392.6	3,338.4	3,347.4	19.6	0.6
Mining, logging, and construction	161.5	164.5	160.2	158.7	-2.8	-1.7
Manufacturing	56.6	57.9	57.1	57.3	0.7	1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	398.2	422.2	405.7	401.3	3.1	0.8
Information	82.1	79.9	78.3	78.9	-3.2	-3.9
Financial activities	154.4	153.5	150.4	149.8	-4.6	-3.0
Professional and business services	812.5	808.8	802.9	803.7	-8.8	-1.1
Education and health services	451.8	464.0	461.2	464.6	12.8	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	303.8	316.5	304.4	305.9	2.1	0.7
Other services	191.2	195.3	193.3	193.0	1.8	0.9
Government	715.7	730.0	724.9	734.2	18.5	2.6
Footnotes (1) U.S. data are preliminary for two months after they are first published. (p) Preliminary