Manufacturing Jobs In Chicago See Year-Over-Year Uptick
If you are looking for a job, you might be wondering what industries are hiring in the Chicagoland area. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), manufacturing is one sector seeing a slight increase in the metropolitan area.
The BLS noted the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metropolitan area had a preliminary total of approximately 325,000 people employed in manufacturing in the metropolitan area in May 2013. This total is an increase of 0.8 percent from the number of people employed in May 2012, and represents an increase of 0.4 percent from April 2013.
Manufacturing, as defined by the Bureau of Labor statistics, encompasses a variety of sectors, including paper manufacturing, fabricated metal, food and beverage, plastics and rubber and transportation equipment. Careers within the manufacturing industry can include programmers, maintenance engineers, plant managers and production engineers.
Nationwide, the manufacturing sector had an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent in May 2013, up from the rate of 6.4 percent reported in the previous month, but was down from the rate of 7.1 percent in May 2012.
That same month, the preliminary overall unemployment rate for the metropolitan area of Chicago-Joliet-Naperville was 9.3 percent and was unchanged from April 2013, but was up from the unemployment rate of 8.8 percent reported in the metropolitan area in May 2013.
Several manufacturers are bringing new business to the Chicagoland area. For example, eco-friendly cleaning products company Method will open a facility in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood and bring approximately 100 new jobs to the area.
In addition, it was recently announced that General Electric would help ComEd create smart grids. The smart grids would be assembled in Chicago in the South Side, and in a press release, GE stated the collaboration could create approximately 50 jobs when the project is underway.
New Era Windows Cooperative in Goose Island recently opened its doors. The company currently has 18 employee-owners, but plans to expand its staff to as many as approximately 80 employees.
Megan Horst-Hatch is a runner, reader, baker, gardener, knitter, and other words that end in "-er." She is also the president of Megan Writes, LLC. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
