Department of Numbers

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas Job Growth

There were 3,027,100 jobs in Houston, Texas in May 2021 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 3,122,165 employed persons for the month. Houston added 8,800 jobs in May 2021 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 20,609 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Houston job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey May 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 3,027,100 +8,800 +139,200
CPS 3,122,165 +20,609 +216,418

Note: The CPS survey data is now seasonally adjusted at the metropolitan level by with the new BLS SSA series.

Houston, Texas Employment Changes

The charts below show the monthly job growth for Houston as measured by the CES and CPS surveys. To illustrate the trend, the 3 month moving average change in employment is shown in green.

CES Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

CPS Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

Total Employment for Houston, Texas

CES employment for Houston peaked in February 2020 at 3,199,900. Since then 172,800 jobs have been lost in Houston according to the employer survey. From a trough of 2,828,500 in April 2020, Houston has gained 198,600 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 3,340,153 for Houston in February 2020. 217,988 jobs have been lost in Houston since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 2,809,151, Houston has added 313,014 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through May 2021

Houston, Texas Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
May 2021 3,027,100 8,800 3,122,165 20,609
April 2021 3,018,300 10,600 3,101,556 16,162
March 2021 3,007,700 25,100 3,085,394 13,439
February 2021 2,982,600 4,100 3,071,955 -27,889
January 2021 2,978,500 4,500 3,099,844 -29,176
December 2020 2,974,000 10,600 3,129,020 8,090
November 2020 2,963,400 12,800 3,120,930 -35,442
October 2020 2,950,600 13,500 3,156,372 66,587
September 2020 2,937,100 12,500 3,089,785 -60,175
August 2020 2,924,600 16,700 3,149,960 123,139
July 2020 2,907,900 -19,800 3,026,821 -27,605
June 2020 2,927,700 39,800 3,054,426 148,679

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