Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Houston fell 0.1 percentage points in November 2021 to 5.6%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.4 percentage points higher than the Texas rate. The unemployment rate in Houston peaked in April 2020 at 14.4% and is now 8.8 percentage points lower. You can also compare Houston unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | November 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 4.2% | -0.4 | -2.5 |
| Texas | 5.2% | -0.2 | -2.0 |
| Houston | 5.6% | -0.1 | -2.4 |
Unemployment Rate: Houston, Texas, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
Houston, Texas Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in Houston peaked in April 2020 at 473,259. There are now 279,548 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Houston employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Houston, Texas) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | November 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 193,711 | -3,310 | -77,566 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
Houston, Texas Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
Texas Unemployment Rate |
Houston Unemployment Rate |
Houston Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2021 |
3.9% | — | — | — |
| November 2021 |
4.2% | 5.2% | 5.6% | 193,711 |
| October 2021 |
4.6% | 5.4% | 5.7% | 197,021 |
| September 2021 |
4.7% | 5.6% | 5.8% | 198,377 |
| August 2021 |
5.2% | 5.9% | 5.9% | 201,739 |
| July 2021 |
5.4% | 6.2% | 6.5% | 220,877 |
| June 2021 |
5.9% | 6.5% | 7.1% | 241,583 |
| May 2021 |
5.8% | 6.6% | 7.2% | 241,943 |
| April 2021 |
6.0% | 6.7% | 7.8% | 264,132 |
| March 2021 |
6.0% | 6.9% | 7.9% | 265,056 |
| February 2021 |
6.2% | 6.9% | 7.9% | 263,164 |
| January 2021 |
6.4% | 6.8% | 7.8% | 261,277 |
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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