World Business Chicago tracks indicators from month to month to gauge the strength of several aspects of Chicago’s regional economy, including employment in major sectors, residential and office real estate data, price and purchasing indexes, and auto and truck sales. As some data is released with a two-month lag, the information summarized below reflects June 2010.
Key trends evident in this month’s “By The Numbers” include:
- Total regional employment continued to climb in June, reaching 4,256,800 workers from 4,248,700 in May. This marks an increase of 8,100 jobs for the Chicago MSA.
- Total U.S. freight carloads were up by roughly 250,000 in June.
- The Chicago Midwest Manufacturing Index, a monthly index tracking manufacturing activity, fell slightly to 79.4 in June from 79.7 in May; however, the June 2010 value is 1.4 points higher than it was in June 2009.
- The national Consumer Confidence Index fell to 54.3 in June from 62.7 in May; however the June 2010 figure is still higher than June 2009 when the index was at 49.3.
These and other trends are illustrated in this month's Chicago By The Numbers table (PDF).
