Overall unemployment rate moved up to 8.3% with the biggest shift in Transportation & Utilities, which lost 13,600 roles, based on the most recently available information published in March 2021.
Total employment in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX market declined by 75,722 jobs in January and the unemployment rate increased compared to the prior month by 30 bps to 8.3%. The national unemployment rate increased by 31 bps over the same time to 6.8%.
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX unemployment rate is 149 bps above the national rate which is a negative sign.
- Unemployment in the market is 420 bps above the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a negative.
- Average wages (per hour) grew in January versus prior month by 3.9% and are down compared to last year at this time in the market.
Month over Month Unemployment Change
Year over Year Unemployment Change
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -1.6%. Key sectors include:
- Transportation & Utilities: 620,000; -13,600
- Business Services: 478,100; -5,700
- Government: 408,600; -11,500
- Education & Healthcare: 393,100; -4,900
- Restaurants & Hotels: 282,800; -4,400
- Construction, Mining: 265,200; -2,000
- Manufacturing: 203,800; -4,900
- Financial Services: 162,700; -600
- Other Jobs: 104,800; no change
- IT & Development: 28,700; -300
Employment Change by Key Sector
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through January 2021 (Data published March 2021 and reports created on March 25, 2021). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.