Overall unemployment rate moved down to 5.4% with the biggest shift in Restaurants & Hotels, which lost 500 roles, based on the most recently available information published in November 2021.
Total employment in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA market rose by 407 jobs in September and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 80 bps to 5.4%. The national unemployment rate decreased by 72 bps over the same time to 4.6%.
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA unemployment rate is 84 bps above the national rate which is a negative sign.
- Unemployment in the market is 290 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
- Average wages (per hour) grew in September versus prior month by 2% and are down compared to last year at this time in the market.
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -0.5%. Key sectors include:
- Government: 19,000; +300
- Education & Healthcare: 17,300; +200
- Transportation & Utilities: 15,500; -100
- Restaurants & Hotels: 11,000; -500
- Business Services: 10,400; -100
- Manufacturing: 6,900; -100
- Construction, Mining: 4,700; no change
- Other Jobs: 4,700; -200
- Financial Services: 3,100; no change
- IT & Development: 500; no change
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through September 2021 (Data published November 2021 and reports created on November 3, 2021). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.