Nonfarm payroll employment in the Houston metro area reached 3,068,200 in December ’20.
Service industries account for more than 2.5 million Houston-area jobs or four out of five workers in the region. The largest service industries are trade, transportation and utilities (20.8 percent of jobs), professional and business services (16.9 percent), and government (13.7 percent).
The goods-producing sector employs 494,700 Houstonians and accounts for approximately one in five of the region’s jobs. Construction is the largest goods-producing industry with 7.1 percent of total jobs, followed closely by manufacturing (6.9 percent) and upstream energy (1.1 percent).
More than half of Houston’s manufacturing jobs involve the production of durable goods, items with a useful life of three years or more. In Houston, this includes items such as oil field equipment, structural steel and computers.
|
Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Employment by Industry December 2020 |
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|
Industry |
Jobs |
Percent of Total |
|
Total Nonfarm |
3,068,200 |
100.0 |
|
Total Private |
2,647,600 |
86.3 |
|
Goods Producing |
494,700 |
16.1 |
|
Service Providing |
2,573,500 |
83.9 |
|
Mining and Logging |
64,500 |
2.1 |
|
Oil and Gas Extraction |
35,000 |
1.1 |
|
Support Activities for Mining |
28,100 |
0.9 |
|
Construction |
217,100 |
7.1 |
|
Manufacturing |
213,100 |
6.9 |
|
Durable Goods |
128,900 |
4.2 |
|
Non-Durable Goods |
84,200 |
2.7 |
|
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities |
636,900 |
20.8 |
|
Wholesale Trade |
158,400 |
5.2 |
|
Retail Trade |
309,300 |
10.1 |
|
Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities |
169,200 |
5.5 |
|
Information |
29,900 |
1.0 |
|
Financial Activities |
163,800 |
5.3 |
|
Finance and Insurance |
105,600 |
3.4 |
|
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing |
58,200 |
1.9 |
|
Professional and Business Services |
517,600 |
16.9 |
|
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services |
253,400 |
8.3 |
|
Management of Companies and Enterprises |
44,400 |
1.4 |
|
Admin and Support and Waste Mgmt. |
219,800 |
7.2 |
|
Educational and Health Services |
405,400 |
13.2 |
|
Educational Services |
64,600 |
2.1 |
|
Health Care and Social Assistance |
340,800 |
11.1 |
|
Leisure and Hospitality |
295,900 |
9.6 |
|
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation |
24,500 |
0.8 |
|
Accommodation and Food Services |
271,400 |
8.8 |
|
Other Services |
103,400 |
3.4 |
|
Government |
420,600 |
13.7 |
|
Source: Texas Workforce Commission, December 2020, not seasonally adjusted |
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Houston has one of the largest manufacturing workforces in the country
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