Workforce
Overview
A Robust, Educated and Hardworking Talent Pool
Home to a civilian labor force of nearly 6.5 million people and more than 200 higher education institutions, Illinois continues to fuel one of its greatest assets for business: its diverse, skilled and hardworking workforce.
About a third of the state’s talent pool hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, which exceeds the national average. That’s thanks to Illinois’ top-notch higher education institutions, which produce 10 percent of the nation’s computer scientists and graduate more engineers than MIT, Stanford and Caltech combined. It’s no surprise that the minds behind YouTube, Oracle, CDW, PayPal and Tesla Motors are graduates of Illinois schools.
More than just highly educated, in the spirit of the famous Midwestern work ethic, our workforce is characterized as loyal, hardworking and honest.
Percent Employment by Select Occupation
Education Attainment | Population 25+ Years
| Illinois | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree | 20.2% | 18.8% |
| Graduate or Professional Degree | 12.7% | 11.5% |
Feeding Illinois’ Talent Pipeline
Illinois’ more than 200 higher education institutions include some of the top colleges, universities and graduate programs in the nation.
The private University of Chicago ranks third on U.S. News’ 2018 Best National Universities list, while Northwestern University and the University of Illinois host engineering programs among the country’s top 15. Many of these institutions partner with businesses and incubators to create custom skills-training programs, such as the UIUC Research Park, Argonne National Laboratory and the Illinois Science and Tech Park.
The state’s more than 80 nationally ranked public high schools ensure that the workforce pipeline is continually growing
The Skills to Fit Your Business Needs
Illinois’ workforce isn’t just skilled—it’s diverse in terms of its skillsets. Each year, the corporate talent pipeline is fueled by more than 100,000 MBA graduates, more than 37,000 engineering graduates, nearly 29,000 IT graduates and nearly 9,000 law graduates.
The state’s agribusiness and advanced manufacturing industries are fueled by the fifth largest high school for agricultural sciences in the nation and the University of Illinois’ world-class programs, such as the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and the Illinois Data Science Initiative.
Relevant News
Illinois Investment Guide Now Available
This 2020/2021 Illinois Investment Guide is a yearly publication written by Site Selection magazine publisher Conway Global, that highlights the state’s assets as a global business destination, including its workforce, infrastructure, central location and diverse economy. The issue also reports on the State’s response to COVID-19, and its continued support for Illinois’ residents, small businesses […]
Illinois Lands Multiple Top Ten Rankings for Economic Development
The state of Illinois was ranked in the top ten for several economic growth categories, according to Business Facilities’ (BF) 2020 state rankings released this week. The annual report by BF looks at key economic development indicators for the 50 states, and ranks states’ performance based on level of investment, jobs created and upward mobility […]
The Most Effective Site Selection Tools
From Intersect Insight, the Quarterly newsletter highlighting Illinois economic development news. Intersect Illinois recently launched a new tool aimed at speeding up and simplifying the process of attracting job growth throughout the state. Our new real estate database and proposal management system, hosted on our website IntersectIllinois.org, provides immediate access to in-‐depth information that previously […]
Intersect Illinois Brings Together Team Illinois to Attend SelectUSA Summit
Economic development partners from throughout Illinois to showcase the state’s assets and attract international companies at annual trade and foreign direct investment summit Team Illinois, a collaboration of economic development officials coordinated by Intersect Illinois, recently came together to exhibit at the 2019 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C. The annual event connects international companies […]
New ADM Animal Nutrition Facility Uses Industry-Leading Technology to Meet Customer Needs for Livestock Feed
DECATUR, Ill., April 3, 2019—Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today celebrated the opening of its new high-tech livestock feed facility in Quincy, Illinois. This is the fourth cutting-edge animal nutrition manufacturing facility in North America opened in recent months by the global leader in value-added products and solutions for both production and companion animals. […]