Regional Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (July 2019)

  • Represents 136,671 individuals looking for a new job
  • UP from 3.8% last month due to typical summer seasonal fluctuations
  • DOWN from 4.5% from last year
  • HIGHER than the statewide rate of 3.7%
  • EQUAL than the national rate of 4.0%

Monthly Change

Employers in the Houston-Galveston region DROPPED 15,900 jobs in July 2019

  • Monthly job loss is typical for July due to season factors
  • Government sector was down -18,900, primarily related to summer breaks in public education
  • Net decrease was partially offset by gains in Professional and Business Services, Leisure and Hospitality, and Financial Activities

Year-over-Year Change

Employers in the region ADDED 93,600 jobs July 2018 to July 2019

  • Total Nonfarm over-the-year growth has exceeded 80,000 for five of the first seven months of this year
  • Mining and Logging currently the fastest-growing sector at 9.8% year over year
  • Professional and Business Services currently the largest contributor to job growth at 24,500 over the year
More local workforce economy statistics can be found at Workforce Solutions.

Updated: 2019-08-19