Illinois Q1, 2019 Employment Statistics- 375,125 employers, up 2.9% from 364,425
- 5,884,427 employees, up 0.4% from 5,858,660
- $1,275 average weekly wage, up 2.7% from $1,241
- The average weekly wage is 7.7% above the national average
- The cost of living is 4.3% below the national average
Employer & Employee Growth
In the last year, the number of employers in the state increased by 10,700, which is an increase of 2.9%. The number of employees in Illinois increased by 25,767, an increase of 0.4%. During this same period, the average weekly wage increased by $34, an increase of 2.7%.
The number of private employers increased since last years' Q1. The number of private businesses increased by 10,594 or 3.0%. Growth in private businesses in Illinois grew slower than the national average of 3.0%. The number of employees in these businesses increased since last years' Q1, increasing by 21,221 or 0.4%. The growth in employees of private businesses in Illinois was slower than the national average of 1.7%.
The average weekly wage of employees of private businesses increased since last years' Q1. The averge weekly wage increased by $37 or 2.9%. Growth in average weekly wage of employees of private businesses in Illinois grew slower than the national average of 3.0%.
Leading Sectors
Businesses by Sector
The sector with the greatest number of businesses in the state is Professional services with 14.4% of the businesses in the state. The number of businesses in this sector increased by 1.9%. Other services (10.5%), which increased by 0.8% and Retail trade (9.5%), which decreased by 1.0%, round out the 3 largest sectors.
Table: Sectors by Year-over-Year Qtly Business Change %
| Sector | Change Biz | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Transport and warehousing | 1,047 | 6.4% |
| Information | 349 | 5.3% |
| Utilities | 18 | 3.1% |
| Waste services | 460 | 2.3% |
| Educational services | 119 | 2.3% |
| Real estate and rental | 282 | 2.2% |
| Arts and entertainment | 105 | 2.0% |
| Professional services | 1,009 | 1.9% |
| Construction | 403 | 1.3% |
| Mining and oil extraction | 7 | 1.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 215 | 0.8% |
| Manufacturing | 138 | 0.8% |
| Other services | 313 | 0.8% |
| Agriculture and forestry | 15 | 0.7% |
| Healthcare | 183 | 0.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 102 | 0.5% |
| Wholesale trade | -101 | -0.4% |
| Company management | -9 | -0.6% |
| Retail trade | -347 | -1.0% |
Employees by Sector
The sector with the greatest number of employees in the state is Healthcare with 13.1% of the employees in the state, had an increase in employees of 0.8% in the last year. Manufacturing (10.0%), increased by 1.2% and Retail trade (9.9%), decreased by 2.2%, round out the top 3 sectors.Table: Sectors by Year-over-Year Qtly Employee Change %
| Sector | Employee Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Mining and oil extraction | 461 | 6.2% |
| Transport and warehousing | 9,962 | 3.7% |
| Arts and entertainment | 2,596 | 3.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 5,238 | 1.8% |
| Professional services | 5,510 | 1.3% |
| Manufacturing | 6,733 | 1.2% |
| Agriculture and forestry | 172 | 1.1% |
| Information | 942 | 1.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 707 | 0.9% |
| Construction | 1,486 | 0.8% |
| Healthcare | 5,937 | 0.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,830 | 0.5% |
| Other services | 942 | 0.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,228 | 0.4% |
| Waste services | 112 | 0.1% |
| Retail trade | -13,142 | -2.2% |
| Utilities | -597 | -2.4% |
| Educational services | -3,899 | -2.6% |
| Company management | -6,084 | -6.5% |
Average Weekly Wage by Sector
The sector that pays their employees the highest is Finance and insurance paying $3,395per week compared with the state average of $1,302. Weekly wages in this sector rose by $117 or 3.6%. Company management ($3,303), declined by $34 or 1.0% and Utilities ($3,271) increased by $385 or 13.3% round out the 3 largest sectors.Table: Sectors by Year-over-Year Weekly Wage Change %
| Sector | Wage Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | $385 | 13.3% |
| Real estate and rental | $133 | 8.7% |
| Waste services | $51 | 6.1% |
| Information | $113 | 5.9% |
| Retail trade | $29 | 4.9% |
| Wholesale trade | $77 | 4.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | $15 | 3.8% |
| Finance and insurance | $117 | 3.6% |
| Educational services | $31 | 3.2% |
| Professional services | $59 | 3.1% |
| Transport and warehousing | $28 | 2.5% |
| Agriculture and forestry | $17 | 2.2% |
| Healthcare | $17 | 1.8% |
| Other services | $15 | 1.8% |
| Mining and oil extraction | $19 | 1.2% |
| Construction | $6 | 0.4% |
| Arts and entertainment | $3 | 0.4% |
| Manufacturing | $-5 | -0.3% |
| Company management | $-34 | -1.0% |
Leading Industries
Businesses by Industry
Each broad sector is made up of specific industries. In Illinois. the industry with the most businesses is Restaurants and other eating places with 5.6% of the businesses in the state (with 20,981 employing 397,807 workers). The Restaurants and other eating places industry had 178 more businesses, an increase of 0.9% in the last year. Private households (3.7% of businesses) added 45 businesses, an increase of 0.3% and Computer systems design and related services (3.3% of businesses) added 297 businesses, an increase of 2.5% round out the 3 industries with the most businesses.Table: Top 7 Industries by Business Change %
| Industry | Business Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial gas manufacturing | 8 | 47.1% |
| Magnetic media manufacturing and reproducing | 22 | 36.7% |
| Other apparel knitting mills | 1 | 33.3% |
| Heavy duty truck manufacturing | 2 | 28.6% |
| Open-end investment funds | 4 | 25.0% |
| Ice cream and frozen dessert manufacturing | 8 | 24.2% |
| Health and welfare funds | 3 | 23.1% |
Table: Top 7 Industries by Business Change #
| Industry | Business Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| General freight trucking long-distance | 699 | 15.2% |
| Computer systems design and related services | 297 | 2.5% |
| Management consulting services | 248 | 2.4% |
| General freight trucking local | 240 | 5.5% |
| All other professional and technical services | 199 | 8.0% |
| Software publishers | 180 | 16.8% |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 178 | 0.9% |
Employees by Industry
Private households (3.7% of employees) added 45 employees, an increase of 0.3% and Computer systems design and related services (3.3% ofemployees) added 297 employees, an increase of 2.5% round out the 3 industries with the most employees.Table: Top 7 Industries by Employee Change %
| Industry | Emp Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas extraction | 151 | 453.0% |
| Couriers and express delivery services | 16,310 | 81.0% |
| Motor vehicle seating and interior trim mfg. | 942 | 59.7% |
| Sugar manufacturing | 28 | 54.8% |
| Textile and fabric finishing mills | 162 | 47.4% |
| Record production and distribution | 78 | 34.7% |
| Asphalt paving and roofing materials mfg. | 224 | 32.6% |
Table: Top 7 Industries by Employee Change #
| Industry | Emp Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Couriers and express delivery services | 16,310 | 81.0% |
| Management consulting services | 3,810 | 5.0% |
| Direct insurers except life and health | 3,370 | 9.1% |
| Janitorial services | 2,849 | 6.0% |
| General freight trucking long-distance | 2,262 | 6.3% |
| Food service contractors | 2,113 | 9.3% |
| Services for the elderly and disabled | 2,068 | 4.5% |
Average Weekly Wage by Industry
Private households ($4) and Computer systems design and related services ($3) round out the top 3 industries. Employees in the Private households ($4 per week) were paid $45 more per week, an increase of 0.3% and Computer systems design and related services ($3 per week) were paid $297 more per week, an increase of 2.5% round out the 3 industries that pay their employees the most.Table: Top 7 Industries by Wage Change %
| Industry | Wkly Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas extraction | $1,965 | 144.1% |
| Trusts estates and agency accounts | $2,279 | 71.3% |
| Business and secretarial schools | $614 | 71.2% |
| Carpet and rug mills | $945 | 58.3% |
| Office supplies merchant wholesalers | $789 | 48.9% |
| Local messengers and local delivery | $318 | 45.2% |
| Credit bureaus | $1,632 | 45.0% |
Table: Top 7 Industries by Wage Change $
| Industry | Wkly Chg | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Trusts estates and agency accounts | $2,279 | 71.3% |
| Natural gas extraction | $1,965 | 144.1% |
| Commodity contracts dealing | $1,697 | 19.1% |
| Credit bureaus | $1,632 | 45.0% |
| Securities and commodity exchanges | $1,599 | 29.8% |
| Miscellaneous intermediation | $1,202 | 27.3% |
| Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing | $1,126 | 42.4% |
Company Size
Illinois Businesses by Size
The solopreneur company, has the most businesses in Illinois by far. 64.8% of all businesses in the state have fewer than 5 employees. The 348,750 small businesses in the state represent 95.2% of all private businesses. The national average is 92.9%. (Small businesses have fewer than 50 employees, Solopreneurs employ fewer than 5.) Illinois added 10,594 businesses in the last year, an increase of 3.0% as compared to the national average of 3.0%.Small businesses are defined as companies with fewer than 50 employees. These small businesses added 10,681 businesses in the last year, which is an increase of 3.2% as compared to the national average of 3.1%.
Mid-sized businesses are defined as companies with between 50 and 499 employees. These mid-sized businesses declined 104 businesses in the last year, which is a decrease of 0.6% as compared to the national average of 1.3%.
Large businesses are defined as companies with more than 500 employees. These large businesses added 17 businesses in the last year, which is an increase of 1.8% as compared to the national average of 2.1%.
Illinois Employees by Business Size
Illinois added 63,662 employees in the last year, an increase of 1.3% as compared to the national average of 5.2%. Small businesses are defined as companies with fewer than 50 employees. These small businesses added 7,316 businesses in the last year, which is an increase of 2.1% as compared to the national average of 4.2%.Mid-sized businesses are defined as companies with between 50 and 499 employees. Mid-sized businesses lost 1,214 employees in the last year, which is a decrease of 0.1% as compared to the national average of 4.7%.
Large businesses are defined as companies with more than 500 employees. Large businesses added 57,560 employees in the last year, which is an increase of 5.1% as compared to the national average of 9.2%.
Illinois Avg Weekly Wages by Business Size
The smallest companies in Illinois (those with fewer than 5 employees) pay workers 5.4% more than the national average ($1,062 per week as compared to the national average of $1,005 per week). The largest companies in Illinois (those with more than 1,000 employees) pay 9.8% workers below the national average ($1,742 per week as compared to the national average of $1,913 per week).Average weekly wages in small businesses added $95 per week in the last year, which is an increase of 2.4% as compared to the national average of 3.1%. Employees of mid-sized businesses added $162 in wages per week in the last year, which is an increase of 4.1% as compared to the national average of 1.3%.
Employees of large businesses added $44 of weekly wages in the last year, which is an increase of 1.3% as compared to the national average of 2.1%.
Data Sources
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