Full Citation
Title: Is the worst behind us? What unemployment data for metro Chicago indicates
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2023
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Abstract: In May, the federal government formally declared an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency. That same month, the Chicago metropolitan area registered an unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, below 4%, according to federal government data. The last time that happened in metro Chicago was February 2020, a month before the city announced its first COVID-19 death. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in metro Chicago — which includes a total of 14 counties in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin — remained below 4% again in both June and July. While it might be premature to declare an end to the regional economic emergency resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the return of pre-pandemic unemployment levels for three consecutive months is, perhaps, a sign that the worst is behind us. WBEZ analyzed more than 20 years of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Current Population Survey to get a closer look at the region’s elevated unemployment rates during the pandemic. We wanted to see how they compared with rates during earlier times of economic upheaval. Here’s what we learned.
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Authors: Loury, Alden
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Data Collections: IPUMS CPS
Topics: Health, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Population Health and Health Systems
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