Total nonfarm employment for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 4,698,700 in May 2017, up 34,400, or 0.7 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 24,600 jobs from May a year ago. In the Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. Metropolitan Division, employment increased by 6,700, while employment in the Gary, Ind. Metropolitan Division increased by 3,200 from the previous May. The Elgin, Ill. Metropolitan Division was little changed in employment compared to May a year ago.

Industry employment

In the greater Chicago metropolitan area, professional and business services had the largest employment gain from May 2016 to May 2017, adding 10,900 jobs. The Chicago area’s 1.3-percent growth in professional and business services was less than the nationwide advance of 3.1 percent. Local employment growth in the supersector was concentrated in the Lake and Chicago divisions which added 5,900 and 5,100 jobs, respectively. (See chart 2.)

Education and health services employment increased by 10,700 since May 2016, the second-largest employment gain in the Chicago area. Local employment growth in the supersector was concentrated in the Chicago division, which added, 8,300 jobs. The local rate of job growth, at 1.5 percent, was less than the 2.3-percent national increase.

One other supersector in Chicago added more than 7,500 jobs since last May—financial activities (+8,900). The 3.0-percent local rate of employment growth in this supersector was higher than the 2.0-percent national rate.

Four other supersectors in the Chicago area each gained more than 1,000 jobs since May 2016 — government (+3,000), information (+2,800), construction (+2,200), and other services (+1,300). The 0.5-percent local job growth rate in government was similar to the rate of gain nationwide. Chicago’s information supersector employment grew 3.5 percent from May 2016 to May 2017 compared to the 0.7-percent nationwide decrease. The local area’s job growth rate in construction of 1.3 percent was below the 2.8-percent national increase.

Two Chicago area supersectors lost more than 1,000 jobs since last May—manufacturing (-2,400, down 0.6 percent), and trade, transportation, and utilities (-2,700, down 0.3 percent). For the nation, both supersectors gained 0.5 percent over the year.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Chicago was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in May 2017. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 8 areas exceeding the national increase of 1.5 percent. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had the fastest rate of job growth, 3.3 percent, followed by Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell at 3.1 percent. Chicago and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim had the slowest rates of job growth at 0.7 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

New York-Newark-Jersey City added the largest number of jobs, 151,500, followed by Dallas (+115,800) and Atlanta (+81,900). Chicago had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 34,400 jobs. Annual job gains in six metropolitan areas ranged from 48,300 to 45,000.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in five areas: Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward. Professional and business services was the largest job producer in five other areas: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.

Manufacturing lost the most jobs over the year in four areas: Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia. Atlanta and San Francisco had no annual job losses in any supersector.

Metropolitan area employment data for June 2017 are scheduled to be released on Friday, July 21, 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.