For the latest data, click here. January 19, 2018 The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area created 46,000 jobs in ’17. That’s a significant improvement from ’16 when the region created 18,700 jobs and ’15 when the region created only 200. Several sectors performed better than expected, a few worse. The energy sector shaved 400 jobs, with losses in exploration and production nearly offsetting gains in oil field services. As of late summer, the construction sector was on track to lose more than 10,000 jobs in ’17. The post-Harvey boom helped reverse that trend, with construction finishing at a net loss of only 800 jobs for the year. Manufacturing recorded a robust gain of 8,800 jobs. Fabricated metal products (e.g., pipes, valves, flanges and structural steel) added 5,400 jobs while machinery manufacturing shed 4,100. This is a bit of a conundrum since both are tied to the rig count, which finished the year with 929 rigs operating in North America, up from 658 at the end of ’16. Non-durables (i.e., goods which are quickly consumed or become part of a larger product) recorded a loss of 1,500 jobs, also a surprise given the recent expansion of Houston’s chemical sector. Wholesale trade, still retrenching after the energy downturn, cut 2,000 jobs. Retail, facing weak wage growth and the inroads of e-commerce, posted a gain of 2,800 jobs. That’s well below the average 6,200 jobs the sector creates in non-recession years. Financial activities (e.g., banking, insurance and real estate) added 3,800 jobs, a 2.4 percent annual growth rate. The average growth rate for non-recession years is 2.3 percent. Nearly three-fourths of the 14,900 jobs created in professional and business services were in employment services, i.e., contract workers. Employment services added 10,700 jobs, a 13.0 percent increase over ’16, which reflects the growth of the gig economy and companies’ reluctance to hire full-time, permanent employees. Concerns over the fate of the Affordable Care Act along with pressure from consumers and insurers to control costs slowed growth in health care employment. The sector added 6,400 jobs in ’17, slightly below the long-term average of 8,000 jobs per year. Leisure and hospitality also underperformed, adding only 2,800 jobs for the year. Since the end of the Great Recession, job growth has averaged 11,800 per year.
The government sector added 8,000 jobs, three-fourths of them in school districts, community colleges, and public universities. Houston’s unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in December, unchanged from November and down from 5.3 percent in December ’16. Texas' unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in December, unchanged from November and down from 4.5 percent in December ’16. The U.S. rate was 3.9 percent in December, unchanged from November and down from 4.5 percent in December ’16. The rates are not seasonally adjusted. A note of caution to readers: In March, the Texas Workforce Commission will issue its benchmark revisions of employment data for all of ’17 and part of ’16. The final employment counts may be significantly different from the current report. Those revisions will be covered in detail in a future issue of Houston: The Economy at a Glance. CHANGE IN PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT – December ’16 to December ’17 Houston Metro Area Total Nonfarm Total Private Goods Producing Mining and Logging Oil and Gas Extraction Support Activities for Mining Construction Manufacturing Durable Goods Non-Durable Goods Service Providing Trade, Transportation, and Utilities Wholesale Trade Retail Trade Transportation, Warehousing, Utilities Information Financial Activities Finance and Insurance Real Estate and Rental and Leasing Professional and Business Services Educational and Health Services Educational Services Health Care and Social Assistance Leisure and Hospitality Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation Accommodation and Food Services Other Services Government Source: Texas Workforce Commission
# Change 46,000 38,000 7,600 -400 -4,200 4,800 -800 8,800 10,300 -1,500 38,400 -600 -2,000 2,800 -1,400 -1,100 3,800 1,300 2,500 14,900 8,800 2,400 6,400 2,800 200 2,600 1,800 8,000
% Change 1.5 1.4 1.5 -0.5 -8.8 13.3 -0.4 4.0 7.5 -1.8 1.5 -0.1 -1.2 0.9 -1.0 -3.3 2.4 1.3 4.4 3.2 2.3 4.0 2.0 0.9 0.6 0.9 1.7 1.9
Prepared by Greater Houston Partnership Research Department
Patrick Jankowski, CCR Senior Vice President, Research 713-844-3616
[email protected]
Jenny Philip Director, Economic Research 713-844-3615
[email protected]
