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Economy & jobs
Statistics · Area
Labour force in Cook County
1990 – 2025 · 36 data points
1 of 102 · Regions of Illinois
Updated Oct 22, 2026
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 1990 – 2025
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Overview
6 figures
People
18 figures
Economy
20 figures
Housing
8 figures
Education
10 figures
Tourism
3 figures
Climate
3 figures
Latest value · 2025
2,784,839
+0.0%
since 2024
Regions of Illinois · 2025
1 of 102
Place 1 is the highest value.
since 2015
+3.9%
+0.2% a year on average
share of Illinois
42.3%
Illinois: 6,587,613 · 2025
Labour force, 1990 – 2025 people
+3.9% since 2015
0
1M
2M
3M
1990
2000
2005
2010
2015
2025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 1990 – 2025
Compared with Labour force · people
Cook County 2.8M
Illinois 6.6M
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Local Area Unemployment Statistics
The series at a glance Cook County · 1990 – 2025
Latest value
2,784,839 · 2025
First value
2,601,521 · 1990
Highest
2,784,839 · 2025
Lowest
2,532,959 · 2005
Average change
+0.2% a year on average
Data points
36
By year
All years · 1990 – 2025
| Year | Cook County | Change | Illinois |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,784,839 | +0.0% | 6.6M |
| 2024 | 2,783,840 | +2.6% | 6.6M |
| 2023 | 2,711,995 | +0.3% | 6.5M |
| 2022 | 2,703,173 | +2.3% | 6.5M |
| 2021 | 2,641,506 | +0.6% | 6.4M |
| 2020 | 2,625,455 | −2.5% | 6.3M |
| 2019 | 2,692,380 | +0.1% | 6.5M |
| 2018 | 2,688,534 | −0.7% | 6.6M |
| 2017 | 2,706,837 | −0.9% | 6.6M |
| 2016 | 2,732,644 | +2.0% | 6.6M |
| 2015 | 2,680,203 | −0.1% | 6.6M |
| 2014 | 2,682,426 | −0.6% | 6.6M |
| 2013 | 2,698,590 | +0.9% | 6.6M |
| 2012 | 2,673,987 | +1.7% | 6.6M |
| 2011 | 2,628,433 | −0.1% | 6.6M |
| 2010 | 2,630,611 | +2.1% | 6.6M |
| 2009 | 2,576,474 | −0.7% | 6.6M |
| 2008 | 2,594,515 | +0.3% | 6.6M |
| 2007 | 2,587,017 | +1.7% | 6.6M |
| 2006 | 2,544,519 | +0.5% | 6.5M |
| 2005 | 2,532,959 | −0.9% | 6.4M |
| 2004 | 2,557,217 | −0.8% | 6.3M |
| 2003 | 2,576,653 | −1.7% | 6.3M |
| 2002 | 2,622,287 | −3.3% | 6.3M |
| 2001 | 2,711,323 | −1.1% | 6.4M |
| 2000 | 2,742,757 | +0.4% | 6.5M |
| 1999 | 2,732,126 | +2.0% | 6.5M |
| 1998 | 2,678,470 | −0.3% | 6.3M |
| 1997 | 2,687,805 | +0.6% | 6.3M |
| 1996 | 2,672,529 | +0.4% | 6.2M |
| 1995 | 2,662,578 | +0.4% | 6.2M |
| 1994 | 2,652,180 | +0.6% | 6.1M |
| 1993 | 2,637,257 | +0.5% | 6.1M |
| 1992 | 2,622,973 | +1.4% | 6M |
| 1991 | 2,585,864 | −0.6% | 5.9M |
| 1990 | 2,601,521 | 5.9M |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 1990 – 2025
Ranking · Regions of Illinois
2017 · Place 1 is the highest value.
| # | Territory | Labour force | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102 | Pope County | 1,227 | |
| 101 | Hardin County | 1,373 | |
| 100 | Pulaski County | 2,082 | |
| 99 | Calhoun County | 2,114 | |
| 98 | Alexander County | 2,208 | |
| 97 | Brown County | 2,271 | |
| 96 | Gallatin County | 2,382 | |
| 95 | Scott County | 2,433 | |
| 94 | Stark County | 2,639 | |
| 93 | Edwards County | 2,987 | |
| 92 | Schuyler County | 3,004 | |
| 91 | Putnam County | 3,060 | |
| 90 | Henderson County | 3,342 | |
| 89 | Hamilton County | 3,716 | |
| 88 | Johnson County | 4,237 | |
| 87 | Jasper County | 4,608 | |
| 86 | Wabash County | 5,310 | |
| 85 | Marshall County | 5,415 | |
| 84 | Greene County | 5,969 | |
| 83 | Cumberland County | 5,977 | |
| 82 | Menard County | 6,239 | |
| 81 | White County | 6,338 | |
| 80 | Clay County | 6,482 | |
| 79 | Cass County | 6,488 | |
| 78 | Mason County | 6,574 | |
| … | |||
| 4 | Will County | 366K | |
| 3 | Lake County | 374K | |
| 2 | DuPage County | 497K | |
| 1 | Cook County | 2.7M |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2017
What it means
Residents who work or are looking for work.
How it is calculated
Employed plus unemployed residents, annual average.
Economy & jobs
Cook County in numbers
GDP per person
$90,330
2024 · Illinois
GDP per person (PPP)
$90,330
2024 · Illinois
Gross domestic product
$29T
2024 · United States
Economic growth
2.8%
2024 · United States
Inflation
2.9%
2024 · United States
Unemployment rate
4.8%
2025
Unemployment rate, latest month
5.9%
Aug 2026
Youth unemployment
9.3%
2025 · United States
Employment rate
71.9%
2024 · Illinois
Labour force participation
63.5%
2024 · United States
Household income per person
$64,962
2024 · Illinois
Median household income
$80,734
2024 · United States