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Chicago Area Sees Boost In Employment In The Information Industry

Are you looking for a new job in publishing or film? If so, there's positive news in the information industry in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metropolitan area, as employment has increased from year-ago levels.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment in the information industry in June 2013 is up 1.9 percent from June 2012. The number for June 2013 is preliminary.

In addition, the metropolitan area's employment figure for the information industry in June 2013 was up 0.8 percent from May 2013.

How does the information industry compare with the overall unemployment rate in the metropolitan area? In contrast, the preliminary overall unemployment rate increased for the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville. In June 2013, the metropolitan area was 10.3 percent, representing an increase from the rate of 9.3 percent reported the previous month, as well as an increase from the rate of 9.6 percent reported one year ago.

What categories are in the information industry? According to the BLS, the information industry includes "publishing industries, including software publishing, and both traditional publishing and publishing exclusively on the Internet." The industry also comprises the motion picture and sound recording industries, as well as broadcasting, telecommunications and data processing industries. Jobs within the industry can include telecommunications engineers, purchasing managers and those involved with computer and information analysis.

The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metropolitan division, according to the BLS, consists of nine counties: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, McHenry and Will.

The motion picture industry has been a significant contributor to revenue statewide. The Illinois Film Office noted the state's film industry "generated a record $184 million in spending" in 2012 alone. That same year, nine TV shows and four feature films were filmed in Chicago, according to the City of Chicago Film Office. Chicago has had several movies filmed in the area in recent months, including "Divergent," "Jupiter Ascending" and the fourth installment of the "Transformers" movie series.

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.

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