US Employment and Jobs
There were 142,631,000 jobs in the US in January 2021 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 150,031,000 employed persons for the month. The US added 49,000 jobs in January 2021 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS employment measure rose by 201,000. (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.)
| Employment Survey | January 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| CES | 142,631,000 | +49,000 | -9,603,000 |
| CPS | 150,031,000 | +201,000 | -8,628,000 |
Employment Changes
The charts below show the monthly change in the US 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 US Employment
CES employment peaked for the US in February 2020 at 152,523,000. Since then 9,892,000 jobs have been lost according to the employer survey. From a trough of 130,161,000 in April 2020, the US has added 12,470,000 jobs according to CES employment figures.
CPS employment reached a maximum of 158,735,000 in December 2019. 8,704,000 have been lost since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 133,370,000, the US has added 16,661,000 jobs according to the CPS survey.
Employment: CES, CPS
US Employment History
| Date | CES Employment |
CES Month/Month |
CPS Employment |
CPS Month/Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2021 | 142,631,000 | 49K | 150,031,000 | 201K |
| December 2020 | 142,582,000 | -227K | 149,830,000 | 21K |
| November 2020 | 142,809,000 | 264K | 149,809,000 | 140K |
| October 2020 | 142,545,000 | 680K | 149,669,000 | 2,126K |
| September 2020 | 141,865,000 | 716K | 147,543,000 | 267K |
| August 2020 | 141,149,000 | 1,583K | 147,276,000 | 3,499K |
| July 2020 | 139,566,000 | 1,726K | 143,777,000 | 1,677K |
| June 2020 | 137,840,000 | 4,846K | 142,100,000 | 4,876K |
| May 2020 | 132,994,000 | 2,833K | 137,224,000 | 3,854K |
| April 2020 | 130,161,000 | -20,679K | 133,370,000 | -22,166K |
| March 2020 | 150,840,000 | -1,683K | 155,536,000 | -3,196K |
| February 2020 | 152,523,000 | 289K | 158,732,000 | 73K |
Department of Numbers
The Department of Numbers contextualizes public data so that individuals can form independent opinions on everyday social and economic matters.
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