Department of Numbers

Iowa City, Iowa Job Growth

There were 96,500 jobs in Iowa City, Iowa in September 2020 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 89,580 employed persons for the month. Iowa City lost 800 jobs in September 2020 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 40 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Iowa City job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey September 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 96,500 -800 -4,500
CPS 89,580 +40 -8,852

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 102,600. Since then 6,100 jobs have been lost in Iowa City according to the employer survey. From a trough of 88,400 in April 2020, Iowa City has gained 8,100 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 98,432 for Iowa City in September 2019. 8,852 jobs have been lost in Iowa City since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 87,007, Iowa City has added 2,573 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through September 2020

Iowa City, Iowa Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
September 2020 96,500 -800 89,580 40
August 2020 97,300 -900 89,540 -1,053
July 2020 98,200 700 90,593 -64
June 2020 97,500 5,400 90,657 2,009
May 2020 92,100 3,700 88,648 1,641
April 2020 88,400 -10,500 87,007 -8,163
March 2020 98,900 -800 95,170 -2,712
February 2020 99,700 -500 97,882 -239
January 2020 100,200 0 98,121 -150
December 2019 100,200 -500 98,271 -92
November 2019 100,700 -100 98,363 -54
October 2019 100,800 -200 98,417 -15

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