World Business Chicago tracks indicators from month to month to gauge the strength of several aspects of the Chicago area economy including employment in major sectors, residential and office real estate data, price and purchasing indexes, and auto and truck sales. Key trends evident in this month’s By The Numbers include:
- Consumer confidence levels, which had increased in November 2009 by nearly 2 points, improved further by rising another 3 points to reach 53.6 in December 2009.
- The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index continued to accelerate at a faster rate than the national average, increasing from its March 2009 low of 31.4 to 60.0 in December 2009, largely due to fourth quarter inventory improvements in production, new orders, and order backlogs. This trend is consistent with recent improvements in the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI-M3), which showed production-related indicators made a positive contribution for the sixth consecutive month.
- Conditions in the Chicago office market remain feeble, although the contracting rate of leasing activity has slowed substantially. The net absorption rate, or the change in the amount of leased and occupied space, in the Chicago CBD office market was positive in the fourth quarter; however, 2009 total year-end net absorption was -507,474 square feet.
- The Chicago area unemployment rate remains high, increasing from 10.3% in November to 10.6% in December 2009 (not seasonally adjusted). Assuming general sentiment that the economy is showing signs of improvement, the second half of 2010 could see the start of a sustained rebound.
These and other trends are illustrated in this month's Chicago By The Numbers table (PDF).
