Total nonfarm employment for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 4,611,600 in March 2017, up 34,400, or 0.8 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.5 percent. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the Chicago metropolitan area has had over-the-year employment increases each month since October 2010. (See chart 1 and table 1; the Technical Note at the end of this release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

The Chicago metropolitan area is made up of four metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metropolitan Division, which accounted for 80 percent of the area’s workforce, added 28,500 jobs from March a year ago. Employment in the Gary, Ind. Metropolitan Division increased by 6,100, while employment in the Elgin, Ill. Metropolitan Division added 1,500 jobs from the previous March. In the Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. Metropolitan Division, employment declined by 1,700 over the year.

Industry employment

In the greater Chicago metropolitan area, financial activities had the largest employment gain from March 2016 to March 2017, adding 10,700 jobs. The Chicago area’s 3.6-percent growth in financial activities was greater than the nationwide advance of 2.2 percent. Local employment growth in the supersector was concentrated in the Chicago division which added 10,200 jobs. (See chart 2.)

Education and health services employment increased by 9,800 since March 2016, the second-largest employment gain in the Chicago area. Local employment growth in the supersector was concentrated in the Chicago division, which added, 7,900 jobs. The local rate of job growth, at 1.4 percent, was lower than the national increase of 2.3 percent.

Four other supersectors in the Chicago area each gained more than 1,000 jobs since last March—leisure and hospitality (+6,000), trade, transportation, and utilities (+5,300), government (+3,400), and information (+1,200). The 1.3-percent local rate of job growth in leisure and hospitality was lower than the nationwide increase of 1.6 percent. The Chicago area’s 0.6-percent growth rates in both trade, transportation, and utilities and government employment were similar to the gains nationwide. The 1.5-percent local rate of job gain in information compared to the national decrease of 1.3 percent.

In contrast, one supersector in the Chicago area lost more than 1,000 jobs since last March—manufacturing (-1,200). Nationally, the manufacturing supersector added jobs. The local rate of job loss in manufacturing, down 0.3 percent, compared to the 0.3-percent gain for the nation.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Chicago was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in March 2017. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 9 areas exceeding the national increase of 1.5 percent. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell had the fastest rate of job growth, 3.9 percent, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington at 3.8 percent. Chicago and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land had the slowest rates of job growth at 0.8 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

Dallas added the largest number of jobs over the year (+129,700). The New York-Newark-Jersey City, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, and Atlanta areas also added over 100,000 jobs each. Houston had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 30,900 jobs.

Education and health services had the largest employment gains in five areas—Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward. Professional and business services added the most jobs in 4 areas— Atlanta, Dallas, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.

Manufacturing recorded the largest over-the-year loss of jobs in five areas—Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia. Three areas experienced no annual job losses in any supersector—Atlanta, Dallas, and San Francisco.

Metropolitan area employment data for April 2017 are scheduled to be released on Friday, May 19, 2017.

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 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 2012 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 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 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.

Reliability of the estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample survey and administrative data 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 are also 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 special 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 metropolitan areas or metropolitan divisions upon request. Measures of sampling error for states down to the supersector level are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/sae/benchmark2017.pdf.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on July 15, 2015. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. 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, Ill. Metropolitan Division includes Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kendall, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois.
• The Elgin, Ill. Metropolitan Division includes DeKalb and Kane Counties.
• The Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. Metropolitan Division includes Lake County in Illinois and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.
• The Gary, Ind. Metropolitan Division 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 online 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.