Department of Numbers

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California Job Growth

There were 101,700 jobs in Santa Cruz, California in January 2023 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 129,680 employed persons for the month. Santa Cruz added 600 jobs in January 2023 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment fell by 182 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Santa Cruz job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey January 2023 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 101,700 +600 +2,900
CPS 129,680 -182 +2,266

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 January 2020 at 104,800. Since then 3,100 jobs have been lost in Santa Cruz according to the employer survey. From a trough of 83,300 in April 2020, Santa Cruz has gained 18,400 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 142,992 for Santa Cruz in February 2001. 13,312 jobs have been lost in Santa Cruz since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 109,491, Santa Cruz has added 20,189 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through January 2023

Santa Cruz, California Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
January 2023 101,700 600 129,680 -182
December 2022 101,100 -300 129,862 285
November 2022 101,400 400 129,577 -32
October 2022 101,000 0 129,609 82
September 2022 101,000 300 129,527 294
August 2022 100,700 100 129,233 324
July 2022 100,600 1,200 128,909 51
June 2022 99,400 -400 128,858 -156
May 2022 99,800 300 129,014 54
April 2022 99,500 400 128,960 261
March 2022 99,100 -100 128,699 659
February 2022 99,200 400 128,040 626

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