Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts Job Growth

There were 1,709,000 jobs in Boston, Massachusetts in December 2011 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 2,397,990 employed persons for the month. Boston lost 700 jobs in December 2011 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 4,149 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Boston job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey	December 2011	Month/Month	Year/Year
CES	1,709,000	-700	+32,100
CPS	2,397,990	+4,149	+38,964

Note: The CPS survey data is now seasonally adjusted at the metropolitan level by with the new BLS SSA series.

Boston, Massachusetts Employment Changes

The chart below shows the monthly job growth for Boston as measured by the CES survey. To illustrate the trend, the 3 month moving average change in employment is shown in green. The CPS data is not shown since it is not seasonally adjusted at the metropolitan level.

CES Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

CPS Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

Total Employment for Boston, Massachusetts

CES employment for Boston peaked in February 2001 at 1,773,600. Since then 64,600 jobs have been lost in Boston according to the employer survey. From a trough of 1,634,800 in December 2003, Boston has gained 74,200 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 2,418,780 for Boston in February 2001. 20,790 jobs have been lost in Boston since then according to the household survey. From a September 2003 low of 2,317,508, Boston has added 80,482 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

Boston, Massachusetts Employment History

Date	CES Employment	CES Month/Month	CPS Employment	CPS Month/Month
December 2011	1,709,000	-700	2,397,990	4,149
November 2011	1,709,700	3,600	2,393,841	6,473
October 2011	1,706,100	-2,200	2,387,368	8,354
September 2011	1,708,300	11,200	2,379,014	7,061
August 2011	1,697,100	-5,700	2,371,953	4,122
July 2011	1,702,800	5,000	2,367,831	-5,022
June 2011	1,697,800	7,500	2,372,853	-518
May 2011	1,690,300	-2,300	2,373,371	-303
April 2011	1,692,600	3,800	2,373,674	5,003
March 2011	1,688,800	1,600	2,368,671	5,919
February 2011	1,687,200	-600	2,362,752	1,525
January 2011	1,687,800	10,900	2,361,227	2,201
December 2010	1,676,900	1,900	2,359,026	899