Strong, Diversified Economy

Chicago’s industry mix most closely matches the nation's, with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce

Photo: “View Up the Chicago River” by Lord is Good

Chicago has one of the world’s largest and most diversified economies, with more than four million employees and generating an annual gross regional product (GRP) of over $561 billion.

The city is an efficient economic powerhouse, home to more than 400 major corporate headquarters, including 31 in the Fortune 500.

Among the most diverse economies in the nation, Chicago is a key player in every sector from risk management innovation to manufacturing to information technology to health services

Most Diversified Economy in the U.S.

Source: Moody’s Analytics (2015), WBC (2016)

Top Metro for New & Expanding Companies

Site Selection magazine has recognized the Chicago area as having more new or expanded corporate facilities than any other for three years in a row: 2013, 2014 and 2015

Photo: “Atop of Chicago” by Brian Koprowski

Metro for corporate investment in the U.S.

Trading Post

The most distinctive aspect of Chicago’s financial services community is also among its oldest. The city’s derivatives exchange community, which started with commodity futures trading at the Chicago Board of Trade in 1848, established the city as a global financial center.

To this day, even though the trading of derivatives is conducted on an ever-expanding international scale, Chicago arguably remains the geographic center of global derivatives trading – in terms of markets, scale and talent.

Chicago accounts for almost one fifth (18%) of the world’s global derivatives trading market; 2X New York (9%) and nearly matching all European exchanges combined (19%)

Chicago-based exchanges generated 4.7 billion in annual global derivatives trading volume with a notional value of more than one quadrillion in 2014

Chicago-based Options Clearing Corporation clears all US options contracts – 4.2 billion in 2015 (the third highest volume on record)

Chicago futures and options exchanges collectively dominate exchange-based derivatives trading, with more than half of exchange-based derivatives trading in North America

$561B Economy Rivals Nations

Source: World Bank (2015), Moody’s (2014), WBC (2016)

Find out more

Chicago’s Business Climate

Today, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago released December 2016 figures for its Midwest Economy Index (MEI). The MEI is a weighted average of 129 indicators designed to measure non-farm business activity in the Midwest (IL, IN, MI, WI, IA). The MEI is contructed of two index values: The MEI captures [...]

Tue, Jan 31, 2017, Continue reading at the source

Index Shows Midwest Economic Growth Picked Up in October
from Valerie Egon

Today, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago released October 2016 figures for its Midwest Economy Index (MEI). The MEI is a weighted average of 129 indicators designed to measure non-farm business activity in the Midwest (IL, IN, MI, WI, IA). The MEI captures both national and regional factors driving Midwest [...]

Wed, Nov 30, 2016, Continue reading at the source

Case-Shiller Home Price Index, June 2016
from Valerie Egon

Today, Standard & Poor’s (S&P;) released June 2016 values for its Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks the prices of existing single-family homes in 20 U.S. metro areas. The index in each metropolitan area extends from a base value of 100 in January 2000. For example, Chicago’s June 2016 index value was 136.22 before [...]

Tue, Aug 30, 2016, Continue reading at the source

World Business Chicago