Illinois: Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment

Exports Support Jobs for Illinois Workers

Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 5.7 percent of Illinois' total private-sector employment. One-fifth (20.1 percent) of all manufacturing workers in Illinois depend on exports for their jobs. (2006 data are the latest available.)

Note: Export-related employment data shown do not include manufacturing and non-manufacturing jobs involved in the export of non-manufactured goods, such as farm products, minerals, and services sold to foreign buyers. Indirect exports exclude imported items. The complete 2006 export-related employment series is available on our Export Related Jobs pages. Additional information on methodology used in the export-related employment series can be found in the U.S. Census Bureau's publication Exports from Manufacturing Establishments: 2006.

Source: State Export-Related Employment Project, International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census.

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Exports Sustain Thousands of Illinois Businesses

A total of 15,607 companies exported goods from Illinois locations in 2007. Of those, 13,892 (89 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises, with fewer than 500 employees.

Small and medium-sized firms generated nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of Illinois' total exports of merchandise in 2007.

Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Exporter Database.

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Foreign Investment Creates Jobs in Illinois

In 2006, foreign-controlled companies employed 243,100 workers in Illinois. Major sources of Illinois' foreign investment in 2006 included the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France, and Switzerland.

Over one-quarter of these jobs (28 percent, or 67,000 workers) were in the manufacturing sector in 2006.

Foreign-controlled companies of foreign firms accounted for 9.7 percent of total manufacturing employment in Illinois in 2006.

Foreign investment in Illinois was responsible for 4.7 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2006.

Note: All figures exclude employment in banks affiliated with foreign companies.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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Illinois Depends on World Markets

Illinois' export shipments of merchandise in 2008 totaled $53.7 billion, the sixth largest figure among the states. That was a 77 percent increase over the 2004 figure of $30.3 billion.

The state's largest export market, by far, is Canada. Illinois exported $14.9 billion worth of merchandise to Canada in 2008, over one-quarter (28 percent) of the state total. Canada was followed by Mexico ($4.3 billion), China ($2.5 billion), Australia ($2.4 billion) and Japan ($2.4 billion).

The state's leading export category is machinery manufactures, which accounted for 28 percent, or $15.0 billion, of Illinois' total merchandise exports in 2008. Other top exports are chemicals ($7.0 billion), transportation equipment ($5.7 billion), and computer and electronic products ($5.6 billion).

Source: Revised Origin of Movement State Export Series, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division.

Caution: The Origin of Movement series allocates exports to states based on transportation origin, i.e., the state from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a state should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement state export figures.

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Illinois' Metropolitan Exports

In the first half of 2008, the metropolitan area of Peoria exported $6.8 billion in merchandise, 18 percent of Illinois' total merchandise exports. Another major metropolitan area in Illinois that exported in the first half of 2008 was Rockford ($737 million). Several major metropolitan area exporters in Illinois included some counties from neighboring states. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet (including some parts of Indiana and Wisconsin) exported $17.7 billion, while St. Louis (including some parts of Missouri) exported $5.5 billion, and Davenport-Moline-Rock Island (including some parts of Iowa) exported $2.9 billion in merchandise in the first half of 2008. The metropolitan area of Decatur likely also ranked among the top exporters in the first half of 2008 however an export value total is not available due to federal disclosure regulations.

Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Metropolitan Export Series.

Caution: The Origin of Movement zip-based series allocates exports to metropolitan areas based on transportation origin, i.e., the metropolitan area from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a metropolitan area should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement zip-based export figures.

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