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Metro Houston’s unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in October, marginally up from 4.4 percent in September. Texas’ rate was 4.1 percent, unchanged from the prior month. The U.S. rate was 3.9 percent, also unchanged from September. The rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Houston’s 4.5 percent rate is low by historic standards. Over the past decade, the rate has swung from a low of 3.3 to a high of 13.3, with 5.1 percent being the 10-year average. Since ‘14, Houston’s labor force has grown at a 1.4 percent average annual rate. Over the past 12 months, the labor force has grown by 3.2 percent (an additional 115,000 workers). The recent acceleration in labor force growth helps to explain the bump in Houston’s unemployment rate.

Among the cities in the Houston region for which TWC publishes unemployment rates, Bryan had the lowest in October, and Baytown had the highest.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits ticked up immediately after Hurricane Beryl hit Houston but have since returned to normal levels. Claims averaged 3,778 per week in October, unchanged from September and nominally above the average of 3,705 in the same month last year.

Continued claims filed by workers unemployed for a week or more rose immediately after Beryl and have tapered off since, but they are roughly 6,000 above this time last year. Workers filing continued claims represent just over 1.0 percent of the region’s labor force.

Prepared by Greater Houston Partnership Research

Patrick Jankowski, CERP
Chief Economist 
Senior Vice President, Research
pjankowski@houston.org

Leta Wauson
Research Director
lwauson@houston.org