Department of Numbers

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas Job Growth

There were 2,978,000 jobs in Houston, Texas in February 2021 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 3,069,149 employed persons for the month. Houston lost 500 jobs in February 2021 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 7,886 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Houston job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey February 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 2,978,000 -500 -221,900
CPS 3,069,149 +7,886 -263,159

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 221,900 jobs have been lost in Houston according to the employer survey. From a trough of 2,828,500 in April 2020, Houston has gained 149,500 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 3,332,796 for Houston in December 2019. 263,647 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 357,183 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through February 2021

Houston, Texas Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
February 2021 2,978,000 -500 3,069,149 7,886
January 2021 2,978,500 4,500 3,061,263 -76,783
December 2020 2,974,000 10,600 3,138,046 9,812
November 2020 2,963,400 12,800 3,128,234 -14,156
October 2020 2,950,600 13,500 3,142,390 7,782
September 2020 2,937,100 12,500 3,134,608 -79,509
August 2020 2,924,600 16,700 3,214,117 158,336
July 2020 2,907,900 -19,800 3,055,781 7,278
June 2020 2,927,700 39,800 3,048,503 198,466
May 2020 2,887,900 59,400 2,850,037 138,071
April 2020 2,828,500 -348,600 2,711,966 -509,592
March 2020 3,177,100 -22,800 3,221,558 -110,750

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