Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Houston fell 0.1 percentage points in January 2023 to 4.2%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.3 percentage points higher than the Texas rate. The unemployment rate in Houston peaked in April 2020 at 13.6% and is now 9.4 percentage points lower. You can also compare Houston unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | January 2023 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 3.4% | -0.1 | -0.6 |
| Texas | 3.9% | +0.1 | -0.4 |
| Houston | 4.2% | -0.1 | -1.2 |
Unemployment Rate: Houston, Texas, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
Houston, Texas Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in Houston peaked in May 2020 at 446,535. There are now 296,811 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Houston employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Houston, Texas) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | January 2023 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 149,724 | -1,446 | -36,133 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
Houston, Texas Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
Texas Unemployment Rate |
Houston Unemployment Rate |
Houston Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2023 |
3.6% | — | — | — |
| January 2023 |
3.4% | 3.9% | 4.2% | 149,724 |
| December 2022 |
3.5% | 3.8% | 4.3% | 151,170 |
| November 2022 |
3.6% | 3.8% | 4.3% | 153,092 |
| October 2022 |
3.7% | 3.9% | 4.4% | 154,713 |
| September 2022 |
3.5% | 3.8% | 4.4% | 155,382 |
| August 2022 |
3.7% | 3.7% | 4.5% | 157,372 |
| July 2022 |
3.5% | 3.8% | 4.5% | 158,623 |
| June 2022 |
3.6% | 3.8% | 4.6% | 160,500 |
| May 2022 |
3.6% | 3.8% | 4.7% | 163,394 |
| April 2022 |
3.6% | 3.8% | 4.8% | 167,445 |
| March 2022 |
3.6% | 3.9% | 5.0% | 173,599 |
1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩
Department of Numbers
The Department of Numbers contextualizes public data so that individuals can form independent opinions on everyday social and economic matters.
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