Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Santa Cruz fell 0.3 percentage points in April 2022 to 4.4%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.2 percentage points lower than the California rate. The unemployment rate in Santa Cruz peaked in April 2020 at 16.7% and is now 12.3 percentage points lower. You can also compare Santa Cruz unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | April 2022 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 3.6% | 0.0 | -2.4 |
| California | 4.6% | -0.2 | -3.7 |
| Santa Cruz | 4.4% | -0.3 | -3.2 |
Unemployment Rate: Santa Cruz, California, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
Santa Cruz, California Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in Santa Cruz peaked in April 2020 at 21,954. There are now 16,017 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Santa Cruz employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Santa Cruz, California) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | April 2022 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz | 5,937 | -455 | -4,055 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
Santa Cruz, California Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
California Unemployment Rate |
Santa Cruz Unemployment Rate |
Santa Cruz Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 |
3.6% | — | — | — |
| April 2022 |
3.6% | 4.6% | 4.4% | 5,937 |
| March 2022 |
3.6% | 4.8% | 4.7% | 6,392 |
| February 2022 |
3.8% | 5.3% | 5.2% | 7,001 |
| January 2022 |
4.0% | 5.7% | 5.6% | 7,533 |
| December 2021 |
3.9% | 5.8% | 6.0% | 8,062 |
| November 2021 |
4.2% | 5.8% | 6.0% | 8,034 |
| October 2021 |
4.6% | 6.1% | 6.0% | 8,150 |
| September 2021 |
4.7% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 8,580 |
| August 2021 |
5.2% | 7.0% | 6.8% | 9,096 |
| July 2021 |
5.4% | 7.4% | 7.2% | 9,556 |
| June 2021 |
5.9% | 7.9% | 7.4% | 9,847 |
1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩
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