Total nonfarm employment for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 4,848,600 in November 2019, up 28,600, or 0.6 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count increased by 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. Three of the four divisions each added 1,000 jobs or more over the year. The Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metropolitan Division, which accounted for 80 percent of the area’s workforce, added 24,200 jobs from November a year ago. Employment in the Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI, and Elgin, IL Metropolitan Divisions increased by 2,800 and 1,000 jobs, respectively.

Industry employment

In the greater Chicago metropolitan area, education and health services had the largest employment gain from November 2018 to November 2019, adding 15,600 jobs. The Chicago area’s 2.1-percent rate of job growth in education and health services was lower than the nationwide advance of 2.9 percent. (See chart 2.)

Chicago’s government supersector added 10,800 jobs from November 2018 to November 2019. Local job growth was concentrated in educational services, which added 10,600 jobs. The 2.0-percent increase in Chicago’s government employment compared to a gain of 0.7 percent nationally.

Leisure and hospitality added 10,300 jobs over the year, the third-largest employment gain in the Chicago area. Local employment growth in the supersector was concentrated in the Chicago division, which added 8,700 jobs. The local rate of job growth at 2.1 percent compared to the national increase of 2.6 percent.

Two other local supersectors each gained more than 1,000 jobs from November a year ago: financial activities (+1,600) and manufacturing (+1,100). The Chicago area’s financial activities industry job growth rate of 0.5 percent was lower than the 1.4-percent national increase. Manufacturing employment increased 0.3 percent in the Chicago area compared to the national increase of 0.6 percent during the November 2018 to November 2019 period.

Four Chicago area supersectors lost 2,000 or more jobs over the year: professional and business services (-5,300); trade, transportation, and utilities (-2,300); construction (-2,100); and information (-2,000).  Nationally, all four supersectors added jobs over the year. 

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Chicago was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in November 2019. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 8 areas at or above the national average of 1.5 percent. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had the fastest rate of job growth, up 3.2 percent, followed by Houston-The Woodlands-Sugarland (+2.7 percent), and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (+2.6 percent). Chicago (+0.6 percent) had the slowest rate of job growth. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

Dallas added the largest number of jobs over the year, 120,700, followed by New-York-Newark-Jersey City, with 99,400 jobs. Chicago had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 28,600 jobs, followed by Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington with 29,000 jobs. Annual gains in the remaining eight metropolitan areas ranged from 96,000 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim to 39,000 in Boston-Cambridge-Nashua.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in seven areas: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, New York, and Phoenix. Professional and business services added the most jobs in five areas: Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.

The information sector lost the most jobs in three areas: Houston, Phoenix, and Washington. Atlanta and Dallas were the only areas to have no job losses in any supersector from November 2018 to November 2019.

Metropolitan area employment data for December 2019 are scheduled to be released on Friday, January 24, 2020.

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 2017 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 sample of establishments is very small or highly variable. In these cases, a model-based approach is used in estimation. These models use the direct sample estimates (described above), combined with forecasts of historical (benchmarked) data to decrease volatility in estimation. Two different models (Fay-Herriot Model and Small Domain Model) are used depending on the industry level being estimated. For more detailed information about each model, refer to the BLS Handbook of Methods.

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 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 the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates. Measures of sampling error for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of sampling error for more detailed series at the area and division level are available 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/publications/benchmark-article/annual-benchmark-article.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 April 10, 2018. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

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

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 CES program are also available in the news release State Employment and Unemployment and from the BLS website 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.