Department of Numbers

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania Job Growth

There were 2,806,800 jobs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May 2021 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 2,852,618 employed persons for the month. Philadelphia added 8,600 jobs in May 2021 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment fell by 3,285 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Philadelphia job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey May 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 2,806,800 +8,600 +264,300
CPS 2,852,618 -3,285 +193,244

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

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Employment Changes

The charts below show the monthly job growth for Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

CES employment for Philadelphia peaked in February 2020 at 3,008,100. Since then 201,300 jobs have been lost in Philadelphia according to the employer survey. From a trough of 2,487,700 in April 2020, Philadelphia has gained 319,100 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 3,029,520 for Philadelphia in November 2019. 176,902 jobs have been lost in Philadelphia since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 2,594,609, Philadelphia has added 258,009 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through May 2021

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
May 2021 2,806,800 8,600 2,852,618 -3,285
April 2021 2,798,200 4,800 2,855,903 -8,572
March 2021 2,793,400 2,100 2,864,475 -9,088
February 2021 2,791,300 10,000 2,873,563 31,685
January 2021 2,781,300 20,100 2,841,878 -10,632
December 2020 2,761,200 -10,500 2,852,510 9,440
November 2020 2,771,700 900 2,843,070 9,020
October 2020 2,770,800 11,500 2,834,050 4,161
September 2020 2,759,300 26,400 2,829,889 59,294
August 2020 2,732,900 29,900 2,770,595 38,508
July 2020 2,703,000 80,800 2,732,087 62,528
June 2020 2,622,200 79,700 2,669,559 10,185

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