Department of Numbers

Iowa City, Iowa Job Growth

There were 101,100 jobs in Iowa City, Iowa in January 2023 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 97,756 employed persons for the month. Iowa City added 600 jobs in January 2023 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 12 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Iowa City job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey January 2023 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 101,100 +600 +2,300
CPS 97,756 +12 +3,907

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

Iowa City, Iowa Employment Changes

The charts below show the monthly job growth for Iowa City 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 Iowa City, Iowa

CES employment for Iowa City peaked in December 2017 at 102,700. Since then 1,600 jobs have been lost in Iowa City according to the employer survey. From a trough of 90,100 in April 2020, Iowa City has gained 11,000 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 99,378 for Iowa City in November 2019. 1,622 jobs have been lost in Iowa City since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 88,585, Iowa City has added 9,171 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through January 2023

Iowa City, Iowa Employment History

Date CES
Employment
CES
Month/Month
CPS
Employment
CPS
Month/Month
January 2023 101,100 600 97,756 12
December 2022 100,500 -300 97,744 257
November 2022 100,800 -100 97,487 188
October 2022 100,900 700 97,299 372
September 2022 100,200 300 96,927 339
August 2022 99,900 300 96,588 205
July 2022 99,600 200 96,383 207
June 2022 99,400 300 96,176 446
May 2022 99,100 100 95,730 481
April 2022 99,000 0 95,249 427
March 2022 99,000 200 94,822 421
February 2022 98,800 0 94,401 552