Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California Job Growth

There were 104,800 jobs in Santa Cruz, California in August 2019 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 135,496 employed persons for the month. Santa Cruz added 100 jobs in August 2019 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment fell by 112 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Santa Cruz job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey	August 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
CES	104,800	+100	+2,400
CPS	135,496	-112	+66

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 June 2019 at 104,900. Since then 100 jobs have been lost in Santa Cruz according to the employer survey. From a trough of 104,700 in July 2019, Santa Cruz has gained 100 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 143,385 for Santa Cruz in February 2001. 7,889 jobs have been lost in Santa Cruz since then according to the household survey. From a January 2010 low of 120,207, Santa Cruz has added 15,289 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

Santa Cruz, California Employment History

Date	CES Employment	CES Month/Month	CPS Employment	CPS Month/Month
August 2019	104,800	100	135,496	-112
July 2019	104,700	-200	135,608	-293
June 2019	104,900	300	135,901	-582
May 2019	104,600	400	136,483	-459
April 2019	104,200	200	136,942	-432
March 2019	104,000	0	137,374	-66
February 2019	104,000	400	137,440	328
January 2019	103,600	300	137,112	482
December 2018	103,300	-300	136,630	-54
November 2018	103,600	-400	136,684	98
October 2018	104,000	800	136,586	513
September 2018	103,200	800	136,073	643