Chicago's economy reached an important turning point in the first quarter of 2010, with job growth resuming after eight consecutive quarters of contraction. While a single quarter of growth does not constitute a trend, the addition of jobs in eight of the 11 primary employment sectors marks a critical first step toward economic recovery.

With job growth forecast to continue at a moderate pace through 2010, the metro area should register a net gain of 58,000 positions this year, the resulting 1.4% increase in non farm payrolls exceeds expectations at the national level. At the same time, Chicago has experienced greater-than-average job cuts in recent years, and it will take several quarters, even years, to recover the 356,000 jobs lost during the recession.

Despite optimism that the worst is over for the local economy, approximately $7.5 billion of Chicago commercial real estate can be classified as distressed. This figure places the metro area near the top in terms of total dollar volume, though when scaled to size, Chicago ranks closer to the middle of the pack. More distress is likely to emerge this year as owners in the marketplace continue to encounter challenges meeting debt service obligations and maturing debt remains difficult to refinance.