Monthly Update: Houston Metro Employment

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Metro Houston shed 30,500 jobs in July, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The region always cuts jobs in July as the academic year ends and annual education contracts wrap up – except for ’21 and 22, when the economy was rapidly recovering its pandemic losses. This year saw half as many jobs lost as in July ’24 when Hurricane Beryl struck the region. Job losses were in line with recent years like ’17, ’20, or ‘23, but higher than the twenty-year pre-pandemic average of 17,795 jobs.

Most jobs lost during the month were in state or local government educational services. These sectors lost 1,200 and 23,700 jobs, respectively, for a combined total of 24,900. While it is typical to see public education job losses in July, this year’s change is larger than normal as some local school districts implement new hiring practices or navigate reduced budgets.

Over the previous 12 months, Houston’s economy added 62,600 jobs. This would normally represent strong growth, but some of this apparent increase is due to a lower baseline. Regional employment was unusually weak in July ‘24 due to Hurricane Beryl and its short-term economic repercussions.

Strong growth continued in health care, where 14,400 people became employed over the past 12 months. Restaurants and bars added 11,600 new cooks, servers, bartenders, and back-of-house staff. Sectors with robust growth of between 5,000 and 10,000 jobs include construction, retail, and other services.

Only four sectors lost jobs compared to July ’24: information, public education, administrative support and waste management, and miscellaneous business.

Total non-farm payroll employment for the region now stands at 3,449,500.

Prepared by Greater Houston Partnership Research Division.

Colin Baker
Manager of Economic Research
Greater Houston Partnership
bakerc@houston.org

Clara Richardson
Research Analyst
Greater Houston Partnership
crichardson@houston.org