Local Jobs Report, May 2022: Chicago

The PeopleReady Local Jobs Report provides a snapshot of jobs, hiring and wage growth trends for specific local markets.

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Throughout the Chicago area, businesses in sectors such as retail, manufacturing and hospitality report a shortage of job applicants. With a tight labor market spurring competition for front-line and entry level workers, the number of job postings has soared to record levels. Meanwhile, many area employers are boosting wages to attract and retain workers.

Chicago Market Snapshot

MARCH 2022*

JOBS ADDED: +6,900 month over month

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 4.5%, equal to February 2022

WAGE CHANGE: +3.8% year over year

  • Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 3.9% YoY in the Chicago area.
  • Leisure and hospitality (+65,700 jobs) had the largest payroll gains YoY among all sectors.
  • The unemployment rate in the U.S. is 3.6%, compared to 4.5% in the Chicago area.

*Note: Most recent data available.

SOURCES

  1. U.S. BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics
  2. Emsi, June 3, 2022

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PeopleReady, a TrueBlue company (NYSE: TBI), specializes in quick and reliable on-demand labor and highly skilled workers. PeopleReady supports a wide range of industries, including construction, manufacturing and logistics, retail and hospitality. Leveraging its top-rated JobStack staffing app, hundreds of local teams, and branches across all 50 states, PeopleReady served approximately 64,000 businesses and put approximately 154,000 people to work in 2023.