Chicago Unemployment Spikes

Posted on July 20, 2009

Even though there are some signs of the economy beginning to rebound, many places throughout the country are still struggling. The City of Chicago is no exception. Even though the city has managed to add jobs on a month-to-month basis, the Chicago unemployment rate recently increased to more than 11 percent.

During June, Chicago saw its unemployment rate increase from 10.7 percent to 11.3 percent, which is higher than the national unemployment rate of 9.5 percent. The city hasn’t seen it’s unemployment rate decrease since October 2008, when it went from 6.2 percent to 6.1 percent.

However, Chicago is faring better on a month-to-month basis. During June, Chicago had a total non-farm employment of 3,713,700 workers, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 3,700,500 workers during May, but a 4.7 percent decrease from last year.

Only one industry managed to add jobs when compared to last year. The education and health services industry employed 518,200 workers during June, down from 523,600 workers during May, but a .6 percent increase from last year.

One again, the construction industry took the biggest hit when compared to last year. That industry employed 149,200 workers during June, up from 146,600 workers during May, but a 14 percent decrease from last year.

Other industries that saw an over-the-year decrease in jobs include: