Chicago's Job Market: Stable Growth in Tech, Healthcare, and Logistics

About this episode

The episode discusses the current state of Chicago's job market, highlighting stability and growth in various sectors including tech, healthcare, and logistics.

Chicago’s job market is currently stable but uneven across sectors. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area unemployment rate has recently hovered around the mid‑4 percent range, slightly above the national average, reflecting Illinois’ position as one of the weaker labor markets in the Midwest in terms of job growth since 2019, as noted by Illinois legislative reports. The employment landscape is highly diversified: professional and business services, finance and insurance, healthcare, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, education, and a growing tech ecosystem all play major roles. Built In Chicago reports roughly a quarter-million tech workers in the region, accounting for just over 5 percent of the workforce and concentrated in software, logistics technology, fintech, biotech, and AI‑related roles. Major employers include JPMorgan Chase, United Airlines, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Abbott, Northwestern Medicine, University of Chicago, Cook County, and the City of Chicago, alongside large logistics and industrial users; CBRE notes that Chicago is the second‑largest industrial market in the United States by…

Topics covered

• job market
• employment trends
• technology
• healthcare
• logistics
• economic growth

Keywords

• Chicago job market
• employment
• unemployment rate
• tech workers
• healthcare jobs
• logistics
• job growth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Built In Chicago, JPMorgan Chase, United Airlines, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Abbott, Northwestern Medicine, University of Chicago, Cook County, City of Chicago

Places: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area, Illinois

More episodes of Chicago Job Market Report

• Chicago's Job Market: Steady Growth in Tech, Healthcare, and Logistics · June 12, 2026 · 4 min
• Chicago Jobs 2026: Tech, Healthcare, and Logistics Lead a Moderately Tight Market · June 5, 2026 · 4 min
• Chicago's Flexible Job Market: Part-Time Opportunities in Retail, Tech, and Public Service · May 4, 2026 · 3 min
• Chicago's Job Market Thrives in 2025 with Tech Growth and Corporate Relocations Leading the Way · May 1, 2026 · 3 min
• Chicago's Job Market: Opportunities and Trends in 2024 · April 27, 2026 · 2 min
• Chicago's Job Market: Tech Growth Amid Rising Unemployment · April 24, 2026 · 5 min