Federal stimulus money set aside for some expansion projects at O’Hare International Airport will create new Chicago construction jobs.

The City of Chicago was originally hoping some of the $15 billion renovation project for the airport would be covered by stimulus money. However, the project doesn’t qualify under the criteria established by President Barack Obama. However, separate projects to repave an existing runway and widen a taxiway will receive $12 million in stimulus money, according to an article by the Chicago Tribune.

“People talk about a billion, trillion, but $12 million is a lot of money,” Mayor Richard Daley said in the article. “We’re very grateful.”

(more…)

If you’ve always wanted to work in education, now may be the time to look into a Chicago teaching job.

Many people often switch careers to take on jobs as teachers, but this has become more true with the current economic recession bearing on many other industries. According to an article by The Associated Press, people who switch careers make up about one-third of new teachers.

“One of the only benefits of living in such tough economic times now is that you have folks getting laid off and looking for work,” Arne Duncan, former Chicago Public Schools CEO, who is now President Obama’s education secretary, said in the article.

(more…)

One company has eliminated more than 100 Chicago healthcare jobs.

Resurrection Health Care, based in Chicago, recently announced its plan to lay off 125 workers. The company is cutting 80 manager positions, as well as ambulatory services and system support positions. The company is cutting 81 positions in all and leaving 44 vacancies unfilled.

According to an article by The Hospital Review, Resurrection Health Care operates eight hospitals in the Chicago area. The company lost $73 million during 2008 and expects more losses by the end of the fiscal year in June.

(more…)

While nearly every industry in the Chicago area saw an over-the-year job decrease during January, the ax fell hardest on Chicago construction jobs.

The Chicago-Naperville-Joliet area’s unemployment rate came in at 8.2 percent during January, up from 6.9 percent during December 2008. The area had a total non-farm employment of 3,697,200 workers during January, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 3,810,400 workers during December and a 2.8 percent decrease from last year.

Chicago’s construction industry only employed 137,000 workers during January, down from 153,400 workers during December and a 10 percent decrease from last year. The area’s construction industry has seen an over-the-year decline every month for the last six months: by 5.3 percent during August, by 6.3 percent during September, by 7.4 percent during October, by 9 percent during November, by 10.2 percent during December and by 10 percent during January.

(more…)

Money set aside in the new government stimulus bill to increase greener living has helped the effort to create Chicago green jobs. That in turn has helped one Chicago plant reopen and many unemployed workers gain hope.

In December 2008, the Republic Windows and Doors plant shut down, leaving 250 people without work. The plant was supposed to give its workers 60-days notice, but Bank of America cut the company’s credit line, leaving the company no choice. However, the workers refused to leave and managed to strike a deal with the company.

Most recently, those workers have become even more lucky. Serious Materials, a California-based company that produces energy efficient building materials, purchased the plant. On top of that, the company decided it would rehire some of the plant’s former union workers and pay them their former union wages, according to an article by MercuryNews.

(more…)