Climbing the Career Ladder with an Hourly Job

For the ninth month in a row, the national unemployment rate has remained below 5 percent, a clear indication that the economic recovery in the U.S. continues to progress. The results of a recent workforce survey by Snagajob and LinkedIn recognizes this development, and paints a positive picture of the overall employment situation.

Snagajob CEO Peter Harrison says the company's research highlights encouraging trends for hourly workers and managers.

"With a low unemployment rate, and a dramatic spike in the amount of open hourly positions and jobs, it's a job seeker's market right now," he stated. "As the competition between employers increase, this data helps hourly employers understand what workers want out of a job to help improve recruitment, improve engagement and reduce turnover."

Advancing your career in an hourly job

Based on Snagajob's research and engagement with 75 million hourly workers and nearly a half a million employers, one of the issues that came to the forefront was "a real need for resources to guide hourly workers through their employment journey," Harrison noted.

The workforce survey analyzed 16 business sectors and examined issues like employee engagement and how long it takes to get hired and promoted. It also provided insights on career growth opportunities and the advantages of having a well-rounded skillset.

The path to promotion

Among the skills that help workers advance in restaurant and retail careers are a basic understanding of finance, management and new store development skills. The restaurant industry tends to provide a faster path to managerial roles than retail, although, statistically, hourly workers in beverage, crafts and furniture businesses get promoted to managerial jobs the fastest.

Some specialized knowledge is necessary to advance in management positions, but a business education can help applicants gain a foundation and competitive edge for moving on to higher-level jobs.

Why recruiting skills matter

The ability to recruit and retain staff is the most universally valuable skillset in the restaurant and retail sector. The survey results also suggest that management candidates and trainees who show initiative in learning skills like recruiting, hiring, employee scheduling, staff development, and employee relations boost their chances for promotions. Other strengths that lead to career advancement and management opportunities include financial forecasting ability, operations management potential, and a proactive attitude toward improving bottom-line profits.

Getting hired quickly

Since financial need is often a primary motivator among hourly workers seeking employment, one of the metrics Snagajob focused on is hiring speed. As the report states, "For many hourly workers, getting a job quickly is the difference between being able to pay the bills or not."

On the average, the turnaround time for restaurant hiring is several days less than that of retail businesses. Restaurants average 15 to 27 days between the date of an application and the resulting job offer. The average lead time for retail stores is 33 days. One of the key takeaways in the report is that faster results can sometimes be produced by targeting certain types of businesses.

"If you're looking to get hired quickly, the data shows sandwich shops, sports stores and casual dining restaurants are your best bets – they hire the fastest among the 16 sectors we analyzed," said the report.

By focusing on objectives like increasing operational efficiency, improving training procedures, and developing practical marketing ideas for the business, hourly workers can position themselves for promotions, recognition, and upward mobility in their careers.

- See more at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9814-hourly-job-skills-promotion.html#sthash.wUMoHJGx.dpuf

Weekly jobless claims fall less than expected

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week, suggesting some loss of momentum in a labor market that continues to tighten.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 258,000 for the week ended March 25, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's data was unrevised.

Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 108 straight weeks. That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller.

The labor market is currently near full employment.

A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week's claims data. Claims for Louisiana and Hawaii were estimated.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased 7,750 to 254,250 last week.

The labor market strength suggests that an apparent slowdown in economic growth at the start of year is probably temporary. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecasting gross domestic product rising at a 1.0 percent annualized rate in the first three months of 2017.

The economy grew at a 2.1 percent pace in the fourth quarter. Job growth has averaged 209,000 per month over the past three months and the unemployment rate is at 4.7 percent, close to the nine-year low of 4.6 percent hit last November.

Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 65,000 to 2.05 million in the week ended March 18. The four-week average of the so-called continuing claims fell 1,250 to 2.03 million, the lowest level since June 2000.

The continuing claims data covered the survey week for March's unemployment rate. The four-week average of claims fell 31,000 between the February and March survey periods, suggesting some improvement in the unemployment rate.

- The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week, suggesting some loss of momentum in a labor market that continues to tighten.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 258,000 for the week ended March 25, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's data was unrevised.

Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 108 straight weeks. That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller.

The labor market is currently near full employment.

A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week's claims data. Claims for Louisiana and Hawaii were estimated.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased 7,750 to 254,250 last week.

The labor market strength suggests that an apparent slowdown in economic growth at the start of year is probably temporary. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecasting gross domestic product rising at a 1.0 percent annualized rate in the first three months of 2017.

The economy grew at a 2.1 percent pace in the fourth quarter. Job growth has averaged 209,000 per month over the past three months and the unemployment rate is at 4.7 percent, close to the nine-year low of 4.6 percent hit last November.

Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 65,000 to 2.05 million in the week ended March 18. The four-week average of the so-called continuing claims fell 1,250 to 2.03 million, the lowest level since June 2000.

The continuing claims data covered the survey week for March's unemployment rate. The four-week average of claims fell 31,000 between the February and March survey periods, suggesting some improvement in the unemployment rate.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)

US weekly jobless claims total 261,000 vs 240,000 estimate

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, but remained below a level associated with a strengthening labor market.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 261,000 for the week ended March 18, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Claims for the prior week were revised to show 5,000 more applications received than previously reported. The government revised the claims data going back to 2012 and published new seasonal factors for 2017. The revisions showed no significant change in the state of labor market.

Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market for 80 straight weeks. That is the longest stretch since 1970 when the labor market was smaller. The labor market is currently near full employment.

A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week's claims data and no states had been estimated.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 3,500 to 246,500 last week.

The claims data covered the period during which the government surveyed employers for March's nonfarm payrolls report.

The four-week average of claims fell 1,000 between the February and March survey weeks, suggesting another month of strong job gains.

Job growth has averaged 209,000 per month over the past three months and the unemployment rate is at 4.7 percent, close to the nine-year low of 4.6 percent hit last November. Tightening labor market conditions and rising inflation enabled the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates last week.

Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 35,000 to 2.0 million in the week ended March 11.

The four-week average of the so-called continuing claims declined 15,500 to 2.0 million.

CORRECTION: The Labor Department corrected data in this story to show weekly jobless claims at 261,000 instead of 258,000. Other figures from the Labor Department report were also corrected.

Hot or not? Discover this year's most in-demand jobs

Whether you just entered the career world or have been in the workforce for years, if you’re hunting for a new gig, it’s time to discover this year’s hottest jobs.

The 2017 Hot Jobs report, recently released by Randstad US, one of the largest HR services and staffing companies in the country, reveals the most in-demand and emerging jobs across engineering, finance and accounting, human resources, information technology (IT), life sciences, manufacturing and logistics, office and administration, and non-clinical healthcare.

“Our experts, along with many economists, predict a strong economy in 2017, which is likely to result in more job opportunities nationwide,” says Jim Link, chief human resources officer for Randstad North America. “It’s important to stay in-the-know to find out which jobs hold the greatest potential. Job seekers looking for career growth can improve their chances of landing these coveted roles by knowing employer pain points and packaging their skills and knowledge as potential solutions.”

To help candidates better understand what type of job market they face, Randstad is offering tips for landing a hot job.

• If you have a knack for science and technology, consider engineering. The industry continues to evolve based on market trends and technical innovation, and the unemployment rate for the overall field is well below the national average.

• Interested in finance and accounting? Beef up your public accounting and general ledger software skills to be more competitive. You’ll also have a leg up if you speak a second language, as the demand for bilingual candidates continues to rise.

• Passionate about working in a front or back office role within the healthcare system? Non-clinical healthcare is booming, with emerging jobs like medical secretary and medical assistant in facilities needing additional support.

• Discover new opportunities in life sciences by exploring positions flush with research and development funding. With continued innovations in medical technology, the changing regulatory environment and upcoming patent expirations, the industry requires highly specialized talent to fill open voids.

• Be the IT guy and consider a job in Big Data. While IT is an ever-growing industry, Big Data positions are critical to increasing productivity, and innovation is in high demand.

• As office and administration roles grow, these positions are starting to look more like middle management than support staff. If you possess diverse skills with experience in project management, budgeting, marketing and training, you’ll have the upper hand.

• New technology and innovative production systems are sparking a rebirth in American manufacturing and logistics. Job seekers with previous experience, higher education, technological know-how or training will have a competitive edge.

• As employers seek new talent to fill all these hot jobs, consider being the human in human resources. A field with rapid technological advancements, professionals with a digital mindset will lead the pack.

For full study results, visit Randstad’s 2017 Hot Jobs report and learn more about which industry or position is right for you.

State of the News Media 2016

Eight years after the Great Recession sent the U.S. newspaper industry into a tailspin, the pressures facing America’s newsrooms have intensified to nothing less than a reorganization of the industry itself, one that impacts the experiences of even those news consumers unaware of the tectonic shifts taking place.

In 2015, the newspaper sector had perhaps the worst year since the recession and its immediate aftermath. Average weekday newspaper circulation, print and digital combined, fell another 7% in 2015, the greatest decline since 2010. While digital circulation crept up slightly (2% for weekday), it accounts for only 22% of total circulation. And any digital subscription gains or traffic increases have still not translated into game-changing revenue solutions. In 2015, total advertising revenue among publicly traded companies declined nearly 8%, including losses not just in print, but digital as well.

The industry supports nearly 33,000 full-time newsroom employees. Indeed, newspapers employ 32% of daily reporters stationed in Washington, D.C. to cover issues and events tied to Congress, as well as 38% of the reporters who cover statehouse legislatures. Still, smaller budgets have continued to lead to smaller newsrooms: The latest newspaper newsroom employment figures (from 2014) show 10% declines, greater than in any year since 2009, leaving a workforce that is 20,000 positions smaller than 20 years prior. And the cuts keep coming: Already in 2016, at least 400 cuts, buyouts or layoffs have been announced. Ownership trends show further signs of devaluation as three newspaper companies – E.W. Scripps, Journal Communications and Gannett – are now one. And the recently renamed Tribune Publishing Co. spent much of the spring of 2016 fending off an attempt by Gannett to purchase them as well.

Print newspapers, to be sure, have a core audience and subscriber base that the industry hopes will buy enough time to help ease the digital transition. But recent data suggests the hourglass may be nearing empty: A January 2016 Pew Research Center survey found that just 5% of U.S. adults who had learned about the presidential election in the past week named print newspapers as their “most helpful” source – trailing nearly every other category by wide margins, including cable, local and national TV, radio, social media and news websites. (About one-third got at least some election news from a print paper, which again trailed nearly every other category.)

The three television-based news sectors face serious challenges but have benefitted from the fact that despite all the growth in digital, including a surge in digital video developments over the last year, large swaths of the public – and thus advertisers – remain drawn to that square box in the middle of the room. Cable and network TV both saw revenue growth in 2015. Network TV grew ad revenues by 6% in the evening and 14% in the morning. Cable increased both ad revenue and subscriber revenue for a total growth of 10% and saw profit gains as well. Local ad revenue, which follows a cyclical pattern tied to election-year ad spending, was down compared with the election year of 2014 but on par with the last non-election year of 2013 and higher than the last presidential primary year (2011). Additionally, retransmission revenue is expected to reach $6.3 billion in 2015, five times that of 2010.

Despite current financial strength, though, TV-based news can’t ignore the public’s pull toward digital. The contentious presidential primary helped spur cable prime time viewership 8% above 2014 levels, but those audience gains followed a year of declines across the board in 2014. And, while network TV newscasts had a mixed year – morning news audience declined while evening remained about steady – local TV news lost audience in every major timeslot. More broadly, a 2015 Pew Research Center survey suggests that as many as one-in-seven Americans have turned away from cable or satellite TV subscriptions. This “cord cutting” has implications not just for cable but for any network or station that benefits from the pay TV system. This coincides with a growing digital video ad market, which has attracted the interest of publishers. The Center’s survey data reveal that dramatic generational differences already exist, with those under 30 much less likely than those 30+ to watch any of the three programming streams. Instead, younger adults are more likely to name social media as a main source of news. Even beyond the young, fully 62% of U.S. adults overall now get news on social media sites – many of which took steps over the last year to enhance their streaming video capabilities.

With audience challenges already in view and few immediate financial incentives to innovate, the dilemma facing the TV news business bears an eerie resemblance to the one faced by the newspaper industry a decade ago, except for the fact that the digital realm is much more developed and defined today.

It has been evident for several years that the financial realities of the web are not friendly to news entities, whether legacy or digital only. There is money being made on the web, just not by news organizations. Total digital ad spending grew another 20% in 2015 to about $60 billion, a higher growth rate than in 2013 and 2014. But journalism organizations have not been the primary beneficiaries. In fact, compared with a year ago, even more of the digital ad revenue pie – 65% – is swallowed up by just five tech companies. None of these are journalism organizations, though several – including Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Twitter – integrate news into their offerings. And while much of this concentration began when ad spending was mainly occurring on desktops platforms, it quickly took root in the rapidly growing mobile realm as well.

Increasingly, the data suggest that the impact these technology companies are having on the business of journalism goes far beyond the financial side, to the very core elements of the news industry itself. In the predigital era, journalism organizations largely controlled the news products and services from beginning to end, including original reporting; writing and production; packaging and delivery; audience experience; and editorial selection. Over time, technology companies like Facebook and Apple have become an integral, if not dominant player in most of these arenas, supplanting the choices and aims of news outlets with their own choices and goals.

The ties that now bind these tech companies to publishers began in many ways as lifelines for news organizations struggling to find their way in a new world. First tech companies created new pathways for distribution, in the form of search engines and email. The next industry overlap involved the financial model, with the creation of ad networks and app stores, followed by developments that impact audience engagement (Instant Articles, Apple News and Google’s AMP). Now, the recent accusations regarding Facebook editors’ possible involvement in “trending topics” selections have shined a spotlight on technology companies’ integral role in the editorial process. The accusations, whether true or not, highlighted the human element involved in any machine learning tool, not only Facebook’s. The messaging app Snapchat reports having about 75 editorial-level staff members and announced in mid-May that they will begin using an algorithm for news story selections.

Original reporting and writing are the two industry roles largely left to news organizations (though there are a handful that are using machines to produce news). None of the others carry much worth without these two key elements – so these roles are in some ways critical to tech companies. But it is also true – and some nonprofits have found this in their struggle to get audiences – that well-reported news stories are also not worth much without the power of strong distribution and curation channels. What is less clear is how the tug and pull between tech and journalism companies will evolve to support each other as necessary parts of the whole, and what this rebuilt industry will ultimately mean for the public’s ability to stay informed.

These are some of the findings of Pew Research Center’s 2016 State of the News Media report, now in its 13th year. This is the Center’s annual analysis of the state of the organizations that produce the news and make news available to the public day in and day out. Understanding the industry in turn allows researchers to ask and answer important questions about the relationship between information and democracy. Within this report we provide data on 13 separate segments of the news industry, each with its own data-filled fact sheet. Each individual fact sheet contains embeddable graphics that also link to a full database of roughly 80 charts and tables that pull from roughly 20 different sources. This overview highlights and weaves together audience, economic, newsroom investment and ownership trends across the industry.

Other news sectors than those talked about above had mixed years. In ethnic media, Hispanic print weeklies saw some circulation growth, but the major Hispanic dailies all declined and the largest TV network’s news programs lost both audience and revenue. The number of black newspapers remained at roughly 200, though there is evidence of further audience decline. In the digital space, The Root – a leading black-oriented news site – was acquired by Univision Communications in a bid to expand its audience. NPR erased its years-long operating deficit and expanded its digital offerings, including three new podcasts in 2015. The 14 news magazines studied here varied dramatically in their print and digital audience figures, though digital figures are harder than ever to gauge with the greater use of platforms such as Texture, which provide consumers with bundled access to multiple magazines. There is no audited, sector-wide audience or financial data for digital-native news outlets such as the Huffington Post and Vox, but what the Center is able to collect suggests growth in total audience and time spent on these websites. Beyond their home pages, these sites are also pouring efforts into social media, mobile apps and even giving a resurgence to email newsletters. Podcast programming and listenership grew again in 2015, though podcasts overall (beyond just news) still reach a minority of Americans (36%) and bring in a fraction of revenue compared with other news genres.

There were also, in the past year, some exciting developments and experiments in the original reporting and storytelling in the digital realm by those producing original reporting. Several news outlets including The New York Times and The Des Moines Register are experimenting with virtual reality journalism that can let consumers “experience” the news themselves; others like the Washington Post and Quartz have built “chatbots,” which (like Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana) provide personalized, interactive headlines through texts or mobile messaging services like Facebook Messenger; ProPublica has delved into the big data space, including a deep examination of how criminal profile algorithms are biased; and Univision Digital launched Univision Beta, in collaboration with MIT – experimenting with new ways to tell stories, especially on social and messaging platforms such as their new hub for their online election reporting, Destino 2016.

But even for these, the lines of dependencies with technology companies are deep. As these lines continue to solidify it will be important to keep in mind that the result is about far more than who captures the upper hand or the revenue base. It is determining how and with what kinds of storytelling Americans learn about the issues and events facing society and the world.

 

Chicago Area Employment — November 2016

Chicago Area Employment — November 2016

Local Rate of Employment Growth Below National Average

Total nonfarm employment for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 4,698,000 in November 2016, up 37,900, or 0.8 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.6 percent. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the Chicago metropolitan area has had over-the-year employment increases each month since October 2010. (See chart 1 and table 1; the Technical Note at the end of this release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

The Chicago metropolitan area is made up of four metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metropolitan Division, which accounted for 80 percent of the area’s workforce, added 26,400 jobs from November a year ago. Employment in the Gary, Ind. Metropolitan Division increased by 4,900, while employment in the Elgin, Ill. Metropolitan Division and the Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. Metropolitan Division grew by 3,600 and 3,000, respectively, over the year.

Industry employment

In the greater Chicago metropolitan area, professional and business services had the largest employment gain from November 2015 to November 2016, adding 23,200 jobs. The Chicago area’s 2.9-percent growth in professional and business services employment matched the nationwide increase. While all four divisions added jobs in this supersector over the year, the Elgin division had the fastest rate of job growth, at 9.2 percent. (See chart 2.)

Leisure and hospitality employment increased by 12,100 since November 2015, the second-largest gain in the Chicago area. Local employment growth in the supersector was concentrated in the Chicago division which added 12,600 jobs. The local rate of job growth, at 2.7 percent, was greater than the national advance of 1.9 percent.

Three other supersectors in the Chicago area each gained 3,000 or more jobs since last November—construction (+4,000), trade, transportation, and utilities (+3,300), and government (+3,000). The 2.3-percent local rate of job growth in construction was similar to the nationwide increase of 2.4 percent. The Chicago area’s 0.3-percent growth in trade, transportation, and utilities employment was less than the nationwide increase of 1.2 percent. The local rate of job gain in government was 0.5 percent compared to the national increase of 1.0 percent.

In contrast, three supersectors in the Chicago area lost more than 1,000 jobs each since last November—financial activities (-6,500), information (-3,300), and manufacturing (-1,900). Nationally, the financial activities and information supersectors added jobs. The local rate of job loss in manufacturing, down 0.5 percent, was similar to the 0.4-percent job loss rate for the nation. In Chicago, the manufacturing supersector has had over-the-year employment decreases each month since June 2016.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Chicago was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in November 2016. All 12 areas experienced over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of growth in 7 areas exceeding the national average of 1.6 percent. The fastest rate of job growth was in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 3.3 percent, followed by Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell at 2.6 percent. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land had the slowest rate of job growth, up 0.5 percent. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

The New York-Newark-Jersey City area added the largest number of jobs, 117,300, since November 2015. The Dallas and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim areas also added over 100,000 jobs each. Houston had the smallest employment gain, adding 16,100 jobs over the 12-month period.

Two supersectors accounted for most of the job growth in the 12 largest areas. Professional and business services added the most jobs in five areas—Atlanta, Chicago, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. Education and health services added the most jobs in five other areas—Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward.

Manufacturing had the largest over-the-year loss of jobs in four areas—Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Metropolitan area employment data for December 2016 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Definitions. Employment data refer to persons on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. Persons are counted at their place of work rather than at their place of residence; those appearing on more than one payroll are counted on each payroll. Industries are classified on the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2012 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. The employment data are estimated using a "link relative" technique in which a ratio (link relative) of current-month employment to that of the previous month is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are obtained by multiplying the estimates for the previous month by these ratios. Small-domain models are used as the official estimators for approximately 39 percent of CES published series which have insufficient sample for direct sample-based estimates.

Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports which are submitted by employers who are covered under state unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The benchmark information is used to adjust the monthly estimates between the new benchmark and the preceding one and also to establish the level of employment for the new benchmark month. Thus, the benchmarking process establishes the level of employment, and the sample is used to measure the month-to-month changes in the level for the subsequent months.

Reliability of the estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample survey and administrative data and thus are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Sampling error is a measure of sampling variability—that is, variation that occurs by chance because a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed. Survey data are also subject to nonsampling errors, such as those which can be introduced into the data collection and processing operations. Estimates not directly derived from sample surveys are subject to additional errors resulting from the special estimation processes used. The sums of individual items may not always equal the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates. Measures of sampling error are available for metropolitan areas or metropolitan divisions upon request. Measures of sampling error for states down to the supersector level are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/790stderr.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/sae/benchmark2016.pdf.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on February 28, 2013. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter Counties in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

• The Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, Ill. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kendall, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois.
• The Elgin, Ill. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes DeKalb and Kane Counties.
• The Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Lake County in Illinois and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.
• The Gary, Ind. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter Counties in Indiana.