Department of Numbers

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas Job Growth

There were 3,036,500 jobs in Houston, Texas in November 2020 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 3,126,634 employed persons for the month. Houston added 18,200 jobs in November 2020 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment fell by 15,756 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Houston job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey November 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 3,036,500 +18,200 -143,500
CPS 3,126,634 -15,756 -201,129

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 3,220,600. Since then 184,100 jobs have been lost in Houston according to the employer survey. From a trough of 2,855,400 in April 2020, Houston has gained 181,100 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 3,332,796 for Houston in December 2019. 206,162 jobs have been lost in Houston since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 2,711,966, Houston has added 414,668 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through November 2020

Houston, Texas Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
November 2020 3,036,500 18,200 3,126,634 -15,756
October 2020 3,018,300 19,500 3,142,390 7,782
September 2020 2,998,800 15,900 3,134,608 -79,509
August 2020 2,982,900 16,000 3,214,117 158,336
July 2020 2,966,900 1,600 3,055,781 7,278
June 2020 2,965,300 41,000 3,048,503 198,466
May 2020 2,924,300 68,900 2,850,037 138,071
April 2020 2,855,400 -337,200 2,711,966 -509,592
March 2020 3,192,600 -28,000 3,221,558 -110,750
February 2020 3,220,600 20,100 3,332,308 6,622
January 2020 3,200,500 12,000 3,325,686 -7,110
December 2019 3,188,500 8,500 3,332,796 5,033

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