HR Jobs in Chicago, IL

Government wage data shows a split market inside this category: human resources specialists in Chicago had a 2025 median wage of $78,210, with the 25th percentile at $61,470 and the 75th percentile at $100,550, while human resources managers had a 2025 median wage of $156,770 and a 75th percentile of $200,710. More current posting-based signals put the broader local category around about $85k to $115k, with a broader 25th-75th band of about $68k to $165k, and Revelio Public Labor Statistics shows mean offered salary on new Illinois HR openings at about $94,693 in September 2026 (n=2,427).

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 230 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $67,125 at the 25th percentile, $77,250 at the median and $101,778 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of November 10, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

Chicago is still a viable market for Human Resources, Recruiting & People Operations, but it is not an easy one: metro unemployment reached 5.2% in August 2026, while Illinois HR/recruiting/people-ops employment was up 2.4% year-over-year and active postings were up 1.7% year-over-year in September. That mix points to real demand with heavier competition than a year ago, especially for remote and entry-level roles; locally, more than 400 postings were spread across more than 250 companies, with hiring fragmented rather than dominated by one employer. The best odds sit in mid-level, on-site or hybrid roles in insurance, financial services, software, and healthcare, and Chicago's HR manager concentration runs 1.69 times the national average.

Best positioned: Candidates with a few years of experience, comfort with ATS and HRIS tools, solid Excel or data-analysis ability, and willingness to work hybrid or on-site have the best odds, because about 45% of local postings are mid-level and only about 10% are remote.

Main caution: The biggest mistake is reading the healthy number of employers as an easy market—Chicago's 5.2% unemployment rate, recent layoff notices, and low remote share mean you are competing with a deeper applicant pool than the posting count alone suggests.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 286 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AO Garcia Agency: 10 open roles
2. Aston Carter, Inc.: 7 open roles
3. LaSalle Network: 5 open roles
4. Uline: 4 open roles
5. Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP: 3 open roles
6. Invenergy: 3 open roles
7. Proman Staffing Perm LLC: 3 open roles
8. Ascend Staffing: 2 open roles
9. AssemblyAI: 2 open roles
10. Beacon Hill Solutions Group: 2 open roles

Where the openings are

• Chicago: 145
• Oak Brook: 8
• Schaumburg: 7
• Naperville: 5
• Rosemont: 5
• Gary: 5
• Carol Stream: 5
• Berwyn: 5

Work arrangement

on-site 154 (55%), hybrid 100 (36%), remote 27 (10%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunity is spread across a long employer tail, not one anchor company: in the last 90 days the local sample showed more than 400 postings across more than 250 companies, and hiring was fragmented. The heaviest industry mix sat in insurance, financial services, and software development at about 20% each, followed by hospitals and health care and healthcare at about 10% each. That means the best search strategy is sector-led, not employer-led. Benefits, risk, consulting, and regulated employers appear repeatedly—Mercer LLC, Gallagher Bassett, Marsh McLennan International, WTW group, and Access Community Health Network are among the most consistently active names in the sample—and the work mix leans toward practical in-office execution, with about 50% on-site and about 40% hybrid. Mid-career roles dominate at about 45% of the sample, and large plus enterprise employers account for about 30%, so candidates who can show process ownership, stakeholder management, and analytics usually have better odds than applicants who only emphasize culture or employer-brand work.

• Insurance, risk, and benefits-adjacent employers (high): About 20% of sampled postings sit in insurance, and repeat names include Mercer LLC, Gallagher Bassett, Marsh McLennan International, and WTW group.
• Financial services employers (high): Financial services also represent about 20% of sampled postings, and Chicago's HR manager concentration is 1.69 times the national average, which supports larger-firm HR leadership and business-partner paths.
• Software and growth-stage employers (moderate): Software development accounts for about 20% of sampled postings, but these roles tend to reward sourcing speed, systems comfort, and AI literacy.
• Healthcare and hospitals (moderate): Hospitals and healthcare together make up about 20% of the local sample, which is useful for candidates comfortable with policy-heavy, operationally complex environments.

Where to focus: Prioritize hybrid or on-site mid-level roles in insurance, financial services, and healthcare first, then use software and startup employers as selective upside bets.

Roles worth searching next

• Business Operations Analyst: HR ops work already overlaps with process mapping, reporting, stakeholder coordination, and workflow improvement.
• Customer Success Manager for HR-tech or benefits vendors: Recruiting, onboarding, benefits, and employee-relations experience maps well to client enablement and product adoption.
• HCM, ATS, or HRIS Implementation Specialist: This path uses the same systems knowledge that employers increasingly want inside HR, but places you on the software, consulting, or implementation side.
• Compliance or Policy Analyst: Employee relations, leaves, investigations, and policy drafting build a useful base for broader compliance work.

What postings ask for

• Applicant tracking systems (ATS) (table_stakes | immediate): ATS shows up in about 15% of local postings, making it core operating knowledge rather than a niche add-on. Who: Everyone, especially entry-level candidates and career switchers.
• Data analysis and Excel (table_stakes | immediate): Data analysis appears in about 15% of local postings, while Microsoft Excel or Excel appears in about 10% each, so employers expect HR staff to work from data rather than instinct alone. Who: Specialists, coordinators moving up, and anyone targeting HR ops, comp, or people analytics-adjacent work.
• LinkedIn Recruiter and sourcing (differentiator | immediate): LinkedIn Recruiter and sourcing each show up in about 10% of local postings, which matters in a market where employers still want recruiting throughput without adding a lot of headcount. Who: Recruiting, talent-acquisition, and employer-brand candidates.
• Project management (differentiator | near-term): Project management appears in about 10% of local postings, and it helps signal that you can run policy rollouts, process redesign, implementations, and stakeholder coordination. Who: Mid-career HR generalists, HR ops staff, and people-ops candidates.
• PHR (differentiator | near-term): PHR is the most frequently required certification in the local sample, even though it appears in only about 5% of postings, which means it can separate you in close races without being mandatory for most jobs. Who: Career switchers and early-to-mid-career professionals who need a credibility signal.
• HRIS proficiency (differentiator | near-term): HRIS proficiency is identified as a vital HR skill in 2026 because it centralizes employee data and automates processes, and it pairs well with Chicago's mid-level, operations-heavy demand mix. Who: People-ops, HR ops, benefits, and employee-relations candidates.

Questions about this market

What do Human Resources, Recruiting & People Operations roles pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Government wage data shows a split market inside this category: human resources specialists in Chicago had a 2025 median wage of $78,210, with the 25th percentile at $61,470 and the 75th percentile at $100,550, while human resources managers had a 2025 median wage of $156,770 and a 75th percentile of $200,710. More current posting-based signals put the broader local category around about $85k to $115k, with a broader 25th-75th band of about $68k to $165k, and Revelio Public Labor Statistics shows mean offered salary on new Illinois HR openings at about $94,693 in September 2026 (n=2,427). Chicago can pay well, but the money is concentrated. Generalist and specialist paths are solid rather than extraordinary, while the strongest compensation tends to sit in higher-scope manager, business-partner, compensation, and people-operations leadership work.

Where is demand for Human Resources, Recruiting & People Operations roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN concentrated?

Real opportunity is spread across a long employer tail, not one anchor company: in the last 90 days the local sample showed more than 400 postings across more than 250 companies, and hiring was fragmented. The heaviest industry mix sat in insurance, financial services, and software development at about 20% each, followed by hospitals and health care and healthcare at about 10% each. That means the best search strategy is sector-led, not employer-led. Benefits, risk, consulting, and regulated employers appear repeatedly—Mercer LLC, Gallagher Bassett, Marsh McLennan International, WTW group, and Access Community Health Network are among the most consistently active names in the sample—and the work mix leans toward practical in-office execution, with about 50% on-site and about 40% hybrid. Mid-career roles dominate at about 45% of the sample, and large plus enterprise employers account for about 30%, so candidates who can show process ownership, stakeholder management, and analytics usually have better odds than applicants who only emphasize culture or employer-brand work.

Which employers are hiring the most Human Resources, Recruiting & People Operations talent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Recent postings show the most activity from Joinleyla (10 postings), LawPass (10 postings), Mercer LLC (10 postings), Gallagher Bassett (5 postings), Marsh McLennan International (5 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Human Resources, Recruiting & People Operations roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 10% are remote and 40% hybrid, with 50% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Browse Illinois openings by job title

• General Manager: 203 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 74 open roles statewide

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Other roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

• Software, IT & Cybersecurity
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• Education & Training
• Finance & Accounting
• Personal Care & Fitness
• Protective Services & Public Safety
• Healthcare Support & Healthcare Administration
• Management, Product & Project

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