Department of Numbers

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California Job Growth

There were 91,800 jobs in Santa Cruz, California in November 2020 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 119,572 employed persons for the month. Santa Cruz added 100 jobs in November 2020 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 196 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Santa Cruz job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey November 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 91,800 +100 -13,500
CPS 119,572 +196 -17,037

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 April 2019 at 107,200. Since then 15,400 jobs have been lost in Santa Cruz according to the employer survey. From a trough of 86,800 in May 2020, Santa Cruz has gained 5,000 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 143,385 for Santa Cruz in February 2001. 23,813 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 9,801 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through November 2020

Santa Cruz, California Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
November 2020 91,800 100 119,572 196
October 2020 91,700 -700 119,376 4,568
September 2020 92,400 1,400 114,808 186
August 2020 91,000 1,500 114,622 2,248
July 2020 89,500 -400 112,374 2,508
June 2020 89,900 3,100 109,866 95
May 2020 86,800 -800 109,771 -3,415
April 2020 87,600 -16,800 113,186 -19,992
March 2020 104,400 -1,200 133,178 -3,012
February 2020 105,600 900 136,190 -97
January 2020 104,700 100 136,287 -544
December 2019 104,600 -700 136,831 222

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