Hiring in Chicago picked up to a three-year high in April, as employers added 74,000 new positions in trailing 12 months. That annual job gain figure represents nearly 40,000 more jobs than the market created in the year-ending March, and in the year-ending April 2018. It was the biggest annual job hike Chicago has seen since April 2016. A big chunk of Chicago’s recent gains registered in three employment segments: Professional and Business Services (+21,000 jobs), Education and Health Services (+18,000 jobs) and Leisure and Hospitality (+14,400 jobs). Gains in each category jumped since the previous month – especially Professional and Business Services, which added only 1,200 jobs in the year-ending March.
