Chicago Tech Job Market Report: June 2026

Chicago's tech-adjacent labor market lost ground again in June 2026: information-sector employment, the closest available proxy for tech-sector jobs in the metro, fell to 76,748, down 792 from May and down 396 from a year ago. That's happening against a national backdrop that's still adding jobs and holding job openings steady, which means the local slowdown is a Chicago story more than a U.S. one right now.

The national picture

U.S. job openings came in at 7.59 million in May 2026, up 9,000 from the prior month and up 284,000 year-over-year — openings are still growing, just slowly. The quits rate sat at 1.9%, flat month-over-month and down 0.2 points from a year ago, which tells you workers are still cautious about voluntarily leaving jobs even with openings available. The national unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% in June, a tenth of a point better than May but a tenth of a point worse than a year ago. Total nonfarm employment rose to 158.98 million, up 57,000 for the month and up 506,000 over the year — modest, steady growth, not a boom.

Chicago metro

Chicago's numbers diverge from that national steadiness. The metro unemployment rate held at 4.9% in May, unchanged from April but up 0.6 points from a year earlier. This series is not seasonally adjusted, so the flat month-over-month reading partly reflects normal seasonal patterns rather than a stabilizing trend — the year-over-year comparison is the more reliable signal, and it points to a metro labor market that's softer than it was a year ago.

Total nonfarm employment in the metro was 4.76 million in June, down 3,300 from May but still up 5,900 from a year ago — overall payrolls are essentially flat month-to-month with a small annual gain. Within that, the tech proxy — information-sector employment — is the weak spot, down both month-over-month (-792) and year-over-year (-396). Remember this is a proxy, not a clean tech-sector count; it bundles publishing, telecom, and media alongside software and IT services, so treat it as a directional signal rather than a precise headcount.

Professional & business services employment, which captures a good chunk of contract and consulting tech work, rose 2,916 month-over-month to 801,738 but is still down 2,591 from a year ago. That mixed read — a monthly bounce inside a longer-term decline — matches the pattern in the information-sector numbers: some short-term stabilization, but the year-over-year trend is still negative.

What this means if you're hiring

Sourcing in Chicago right now is easier than it's been in a while, not because candidates are plentiful everywhere, but because local tech and tech-adjacent employment has been shrinking on a year-over-year basis while the metro unemployment rate sits 0.6 points above last year's level. Combine that with a national quits rate stuck at 1.9% — workers aren't jumping ship voluntarily — and you get a candidate pool that's more available and less mobile by choice. If you need to hire, this is a window where competition for talent is lighter than the national openings number (7.59 million) alone would suggest, at least for information-sector and tech-adjacent roles in Chicago specifically. The professional & business services uptick (+2,916 month-over-month) suggests contract and consulting demand may be picking back up locally, worth watching for signs of a broader turn.

What this means if you're looking

If you're job hunting in Chicago's tech-adjacent market, the numbers argue for patience and broader nets. Information-sector jobs in the metro have shrunk both month-over-month and year-over-year, and the metro unemployment rate is a full 0.6 points higher than a year ago — that's more competition for fewer local openings. National conditions are more favorable: job openings are still growing (+284,000 year-over-year) and nonfarm payrolls added 506,000 jobs over the past year, so remote-friendly roles or willingness to consider companies outside Chicago's information sector may open more doors than staying narrowly local. The quits rate holding at 1.9% nationally also signals that most employed people aren't voluntarily leaving jobs right now, which means fewer lateral openings are being created by attrition — a further reason to widen your search rather than wait for local churn to create openings.