Department of Numbers

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Massachusetts Job Growth

There were 2,619,000 jobs in Boston, Massachusetts in May 2021 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 2,601,059 employed persons for the month. Boston added 3,300 jobs in May 2021 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 7,934 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Boston job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey May 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 2,619,000 +3,300 +257,400
CPS 2,601,059 +7,934 +319,769

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

Boston, Massachusetts Employment Changes

The charts below show the monthly job growth for Boston 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 Boston, Massachusetts

CES employment for Boston peaked in February 2020 at 2,847,800. Since then 228,800 jobs have been lost in Boston according to the employer survey. From a trough of 2,331,900 in April 2020, Boston has gained 287,100 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 2,741,699 for Boston in November 2019. 140,640 jobs have been lost in Boston since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 2,130,406, Boston has added 470,653 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through May 2021

Boston, Massachusetts Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
May 2021 2,619,000 3,300 2,601,059 7,934
April 2021 2,615,700 6,300 2,593,125 5,402
March 2021 2,609,400 7,700 2,587,723 5,733
February 2021 2,601,700 16,600 2,581,990 8,913
January 2021 2,585,100 23,900 2,573,077 11,620
December 2020 2,561,200 -1,700 2,561,457 14,944
November 2020 2,562,900 9,700 2,546,513 20,755
October 2020 2,553,200 -1,500 2,525,758 28,079
September 2020 2,554,700 25,000 2,497,679 39,438
August 2020 2,529,700 45,900 2,458,241 55,299
July 2020 2,483,800 67,500 2,402,942 55,360
June 2020 2,416,300 54,700 2,347,582 66,292

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