Department of Numbers

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California Job Growth

There were 91,300 jobs in Santa Cruz, California in February 2021 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 120,999 employed persons for the month. Santa Cruz lost 0 jobs in February 2021 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 689 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Santa Cruz job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey February 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 91,300 0 -12,600
CPS 120,999 +689 -15,191

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

Santa Cruz, California Employment Changes

The charts below show the monthly job growth for Santa Cruz as measured by the CES and CPS surveys. To illustrate the trend, the 3 month moving average change in employment is shown in green.

CES Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

CPS Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

Total Employment for Santa Cruz, California

CES employment for Santa Cruz peaked in August 2019 at 105,000. Since then 13,700 jobs have been lost in Santa Cruz according to the employer survey. From a trough of 83,400 in April 2020, Santa Cruz has gained 7,900 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 143,385 for Santa Cruz in February 2001. 22,386 jobs have been lost in Santa Cruz since then according to the household survey. From a May 2020 low of 109,771, Santa Cruz has added 11,228 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through February 2021

Santa Cruz, California Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
February 2021 91,300 0 120,999 689
January 2021 91,300 -200 120,310 558
December 2020 91,500 -300 119,752 307
November 2020 91,800 -200 119,445 69
October 2020 92,000 -200 119,376 4,568
September 2020 92,200 800 114,808 186
August 2020 91,400 1,200 114,622 2,248
July 2020 90,200 2,100 112,374 2,508
June 2020 88,100 2,700 109,866 95
May 2020 85,400 2,000 109,771 -3,415
April 2020 83,400 -19,400 113,186 -19,992
March 2020 102,800 -1,100 133,178 -3,012

Data on deptofnumbers.com is for informational purposes only. No warranty or guarantee of accuracy is offered or implied. Contact [email protected] (or @deptofnumbers on Twitter) if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. Privacy policy.