Metro Houston sees best December for job growth on record

The Greater Houston Partnership has issued the following press release:

EMPLOYMENT

Metro Houston added 20,400 jobs in December, according to data released today by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). That ranks as the best December for job growth on record.  November also set a record for job growth.

The fall has been particularly strong for Houston, with gains for October, November and December gains totaling 80,800 jobs. That’s the fastest pace of job growth for any quarter on record.

’21 will go down as the best year for employment growth in Houston’s history. The region created 151,800 jobs, a 5.1% increase over ’20. Only a handful of sectors—chemicals, machinery manufacturing, merchant wholesalers, public education and telecommunications—reported job losses. The four super sectors that have held back Houston’s recovery—construction, energy, manufacturing and wholesale trade—finished the year with a combined gain of 31,400 jobs. Houston has now recouped 316,700 of the 361,400 jobs lost in March and April of ’20. 

Houston’s unemployment rate fell to 4.8% in December, down from 5.1% in November and 7.6% in December of ’20.  That reflects 168,216 Houstonians unemployed and looking for work, down from 260,520 in December a year ago.

One caveat to the robust jobs and unemployment reports—the data was gathered in early and mid-December, so it doesn’t consider the impact the recent Omicron surge had on the local labor market. That impact won’t appear until employment data for January is released in late March.