The depression or panic of 1893, a widespread economic collapse, began a few months before the opening of the Chicago's World Fair. This created worries for the fair planners, as they had counted on recouping their large expenditures on the fair through a great number of people attending—something that seemed less and less likely as the economy nose-dived. As it happened, however, the fair was a success.

While Larson does not draw an explicit line between the 1893 depression and the fair's labors and workers, he does mention that the depression increased labor unrest. Because of the collapse, workers were beginning to question the nature of the social contract under which they labored, wondering why the nation's wealth was "hoarded" in banks and spent by rich "idle loafers" who engaged in "riotous" living rather than sharing with those in great need.

A carpenters strike did break out, and to prevent a more widespread strike from harming the fair, Burnham negotiated a contract with the workers. The workers' unions and the fair's management agreed on a minimum wage and time and a half for overtime, as well as double time for Sundays and holidays, including Labor Day. As Larson notes, the contract was a breakthrough for organized labor and became a model unions would continue to use.