Chicago’s labor market plays a central role in shaping neighborhood stability and public safety. Employment levels, labor force participation rates, and household income vary widely across the city, with important implications for household economic security and community well being.
The data below provide insight into these labor market conditions, highlighting where opportunities are concentrated and where gaps persist—context that is critical for understanding how employment connects to long term reductions in violence and investments in safer communities.
For a deeper dive into each of these measures, see Beyond the Unemployment Rate: Three Ways to Understand Chicago’s Labor Market.
Methodology
Definitions
- Working-age Population: People aged 16 or older
- Labor Force: People aged 16 or older who are either employed or actively seeking employment. For example, the labor force excludes people who are retired as well as people who are in school full-time and choose not to work.
- Employment-Population Ratio: The percentage of the working-age population that is employed
- Unemployment Rate: The percentage of the labor force that is unemployed
- Labor Force Participation Rate: The share of the working-age population that is either employed or actively looking for work
- Median Household Income: The median income of households
- Civic Committee Areas of Focus: The Civic Committee is focusing it’s four violence prevention strategies in 20 Community Areas identified by its Public Safety Task Force. View a map of these Community Areas of Focus.
Sources
- Employment Population Ratio: 2020-2024 American Community Survey: Table B23025
- Unemployment: 2020-2024 American Community Survey: Table B23025
- Labor Force Participation: 2020-2024 American Community Survey: Table B23025
- Median Household Income: 2020-2024 American Community Survey: Table B19001
Limitations
Employment-population ratio, unemployment rate, labor force participation, and median household income are statistical estimates, which include a margin of error. This means that while the rankings provide a general sense of relative standing, small differences between areas may not be statistically significant and actual rankings may differ.
