Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

22-2220-DAL
Thursday, December 01, 2022

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (972) 850-4800

Houston Area Employment — October 2022

Total nonfarm employment for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, metropolitan area increased by 194,100 over the year in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the local rate of job gain, 6.2 percent, compared to the 3.4-percent national increase. (See chart 1 and table 1.) All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

  Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change for total nonfarm employment in the Houston metropolitan area, October 2019–October 2022
Industry employment

In Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, leisure and hospitality had the largest employment gain (+46,000) among local private-industry supersectors. (See chart 2.) Within this supersector, employment increased by 38,200 in the accommodation and food services sector and by 7,800 in the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector. The 14.7-percent rise in the metropolitan area’s leisure and hospitality supersector compared to the 7.4-percent gain on the national level.

  Chart 2. Over-the-year net change for industry supersector employment in the Houston metropolitan area, October 2022 (in thousands)

Trade, transportation, and utilities added 33,700 jobs in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, from October 2021 to October 2022. Within the supersector, employment increased by 15,700 in the wholesale trade sector and by 12,200 in the retail trade sector. The 5.2-percent rate of job increase in the area’s trade, transportation, and utilities supersector compared to the 2.7-percent gain nationwide.

In the metropolitan area, professional and business services gained 31,700 jobs over the year, with the professional, scientific, and technical services sector contributing most to the rise (+17,300). This supersector’s 6.2-percent local rate of job growth compared to the 3.8-percent national gain.

Construction gained 26,000 jobs. This supersector’s 12.2-percent local rate of job growth compared to the 3.3-percent national gain.

Education and health services added 18,600 jobs over the year. This supersector’s 4.4-percent local rate of job growth compared to the 3.8-percent gain nationwide.

Manufacturing employment rose by 15,000 from October a year ago. The 7.0-percent rate of job increase in the area’s manufacturing supersector compared to the 3.5-percent gain nationwide.

In the metropolitan area, mining and logging gained 9,000 jobs over the year. This supersector’s 15.0-percent local rate of job growth compared to a 9.4-percent national gain.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in October 2022. All 12 areas gained jobs over the year. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, had the largest increase (+405,100). Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, had the smallest increase (+64,300) among the largest areas. (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, had a 6.5-percent rate of job gain, followed by Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (+6.2 percent). The rates of job gain in the remaining 10 areas ranged from 5.4 percent in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, to 2.0 percent in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV.

  Chart 3. Over-the-year net change in total nonfarm employment for the 12 largest metropolitan areas, October 2022 (in thousands)

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for November 2022 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 29, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. (CT).

Hurricane Ian and 2022 North American Industry Classification System

Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian had no discernible effect on the employment data for October. Employees who are paid for any part of the pay period, even 1 hour, that includes the 12th of the month are counted as employed. For a general discussion of how unusually severe weather can affect the estimates, see question 8 in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the Employment Situation news release.

Update to the 2022 North American Industry Classification System

With the release of January 2023 data on March 13, 2023, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) State and Area division will revise the basis for industry classification from the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to NAICS 2022. The conversion to NAICS 2022 will result in revisions reflecting content and coding changes within the mining and logging, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, information, financial activities, and other services sectors. The majority of the changes associated with the 2022 NAICS update impact levels of detail not published by CES State and Area. Details of updated titles and new, discontinued, and collapsed industries resulting from the NAICS 2022 update, as well as changes due to the annual benchmarking process, will be available on March 13, 2023. More information on NAICS 2022 is available from the Census Bureau’s North American Industry Classification System page.


Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Definitions. Employment data refer to persons on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. Persons are counted at their place of work rather than at their place of residence; those appearing on more than one payroll are counted on each payroll. Industries are classified on the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2017 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. CES State and Area employment data are produced using several estimation procedures. Where possible these data are produced using a "weighted link relative" estimation technique in which a ratio of current-month weighted employment to that of the previous-month weighted employment is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are then obtained by multiplying these ratios by the previous month's employment estimates. The weighted link relative technique is utilized for data series where the sample size meets certain statistical criteria. For some employment series, the estimates are produced with a model that uses direct sample estimates (described above) combined with other regressors to decrease volatility in estimation.

Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports which are submitted by employers who are covered under state unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The benchmark information is used to adjust the monthly estimates between the new benchmark and the preceding one and also to establish the level of employment for the new benchmark month. Thus, the benchmarking process establishes the level of employment, and the sample is used to measure the month-to-month changes in the level for the subsequent months. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.htm.

Reliability of the estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample surveys, administrative data, and modeling and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Sampling error is a measure of sampling variability—that is, variation that occurs by chance because a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed. Survey data also are subject to nonsampling errors, such as those which can be introduced into the data collection and processing operations. Estimates not directly derived from sample surveys are subject to additional errors resulting from the specific estimation processes used. The sums of individual items may not always equal totals shown in the same tables due to rounding.

Employment estimates. Changes in metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment are cited in the analysis of this release only if they have been determined to be statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. Measures of sampling error for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.htm.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on April 10, 2018. The 12 metropolitan areas discussed in this release are the metropolitan areas with the largest population according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller Counties.

Additional information

Employment data from the CES program are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and Houston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area and Industry Oct.
2021
Aug.
2022
Sep.
2022
Oct.
2022(p)
Oct. 2021 to
Oct. 2022(p)
Net change Percent change

United States

Total nonfarm

149,310 152,674 153,197 154,369 5,059 3.4

Mining and logging

584 638 637 639 55 9.4

Construction

7,636 7,911 7,877 7,888 252 3.3

Manufacturing

12,485 12,932 12,895 12,924 439 3.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

28,100 28,643 28,586 28,845 745 2.7

Information

2,897 3,056 3,042 3,052 155 5.4

Financial activities

8,846 9,022 8,969 8,995 149 1.7

Professional and business services

21,875 22,474 22,466 22,707 832 3.8

Education and health services

24,048 24,298 24,624 24,954 906 3.8

Leisure and hospitality

14,805 16,441 15,979 15,902 1,097 7.4

Other services

5,571 5,765 5,718 5,750 179 3.2

Government

22,463 21,494 22,404 22,713 250 1.1

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area

Total nonfarm

3,127.4 3,270.8 3,289.1 3,321.5 194.1 6.2

Mining and logging

59.9 68.4 68.6 68.9 9.0 15.0

Construction

213.9 243.4 241.4 239.9 26.0 12.2

Manufacturing

213.2 227.9 227.9 228.2 15.0 7.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

643.2 668.9 664.7 676.9 33.7 5.2

Information

30.8 32.2 32.3 32.5 1.7 5.5

Financial activities

170.3 175.1 175.8 177.0 6.7 3.9

Professional and business services

514.7 534.1 539.8 546.4 31.7 6.2

Education and health services

422.2 438.1 437.7 440.8 18.6 4.4

Leisure and hospitality

313.1 356.6 359.7 359.1 46.0 14.7

Other services

113.0 114.9 113.2 112.5 -0.5 -0.4

Government

433.1 411.2 428.0 439.3 6.2 1.4

(p) Preliminary

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area Oct
2021
Aug
2022
Sep
2022
Oct
2022(p)
Oct 2021 to
Oct 2022(p)
Net
change
Percent
change

United States(1)

Total nonfarm

149,310 152,674 153,197 154,369 5,059 3.4

Mining and logging

584 638 637 639 55 9.4

Construction

7,636 7,911 7,877 7,888 252 3.3

Manufacturing

12,485 12,932 12,895 12,924 439 3.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

28,100 28,643 28,586 28,845 745 2.7

Information

2,897 3,056 3,042 3,052 155 5.4

Financial activities

8,846 9,022 8,969 8,995 149 1.7

Professional and business services

21,875 22,474 22,466 22,707 832 3.8

Education and health services

24,048 24,298 24,624 24,954 906 3.8

Leisure and hospitality

14,805 16,441 15,979 15,902 1,097 7.4

Other services

5,571 5,765 5,718 5,750 179 3.2

Government

22,463 21,494 22,404 22,713 250 1.1

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

Total nonfarm

2,869.7 2,989.7 2,997.6 3,023.3 153.6 5.4

Mining and logging

1.8 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.2 11.1

Construction

133.5 131.2 131.1 132.9 -0.6 -0.4

Manufacturing

170.4 176.4 177.3 177.0 6.6 3.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

617.7 639.8 642.1 646.0 28.3 4.6

Information

111.6 123.1 123.6 124.1 12.5 11.2

Financial activities

187.4 196.7 196.8 199.3 11.9 6.4

Professional and business services

568.4 601.5 598.5 603.0 34.6 6.1

Education and health services

377.8 391.2 392.3 396.6 18.8 5.0

Leisure and hospitality

269.1 294.1 293.1 298.5 29.4 10.9

Other services

100.4 102.8 101.5 101.6 1.2 1.2

Government

331.6 330.9 339.3 342.3 10.7 3.2

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)

Total nonfarm

2,730.4 2,814.7 2,819.5 2,845.7 115.3 4.2

Mining, logging, and construction

128.4 136.0 135.7 135.0 6.6 5.1

Manufacturing

179.7 186.8 185.9 186.0 6.3 3.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

400.8 413.9 412.1 415.4 14.6 3.6

Information

82.3 88.9 87.7 88.5 6.2 7.5

Financial activities

180.4 181.3 180.1 182.4 2.0 1.1

Professional and business services

526.8 555.5 550.3 559.9 33.1 6.3

Education and health services

593.7 597.8 609.8 616.3 22.6 3.8

Leisure and hospitality

237.0 274.9 259.9 258.1 21.1 8.9

Other services

93.6 100.0 94.5 95.2 1.6 1.7

Government

307.7 279.6 303.5 308.9 1.2 0.4

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

Total nonfarm

4,624.2 4,756.5 4,758.6 4,791.2 167.0 3.6

Mining and logging

1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 0.0 0.0

Construction

184.5 193.4 192.2 193.6 9.1 4.9

Manufacturing

397.2 414.7 413.9 415.9 18.7 4.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

937.9 968.5 964.6 976.6 38.7 4.1

Information

75.2 78.0 78.0 77.9 2.7 3.6

Financial activities

320.3 318.3 318.3 318.7 -1.6 -0.5

Professional and business services

846.5 861.1 859.4 867.8 21.3 2.5

Education and health services

721.0 720.8 733.8 745.2 24.2 3.4

Leisure and hospitality

425.3 492.8 469.3 467.5 42.2 9.9

Other services

185.2 189.3 188.2 188.6 3.4 1.8

Government

529.2 517.7 539.0 537.5 8.3 1.6

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Total nonfarm

3,930.3 4,125.0 4,135.5 4,185.3 255.0 6.5

Mining, logging, and construction

216.6 229.8 232.6 236.0 19.4 9.0

Manufacturing

285.8 300.6 301.8 302.9 17.1 6.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

862.3 890.9 891.5 901.3 39.0 4.5

Information

82.9 87.6 87.7 86.7 3.8 4.6

Financial activities

349.3 369.8 367.8 371.0 21.7 6.2

Professional and business services

717.9 757.2 758.9 773.9 56.0 7.8

Education and health services

466.7 494.5 492.7 499.4 32.7 7.0

Leisure and hospitality

372.5 421.6 421.8 424.5 52.0 14.0

Other services

125.3 133.8 133.5 134.6 9.3 7.4

Government

451.0 439.2 447.2 455.0 4.0 0.9

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

Total nonfarm

3,127.4 3,270.8 3,289.1 3,321.5 194.1 6.2

Mining and logging

59.9 68.4 68.6 68.9 9.0 15.0

Construction

213.9 243.4 241.4 239.9 26.0 12.2

Manufacturing

213.2 227.9 227.9 228.2 15.0 7.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

643.2 668.9 664.7 676.9 33.7 5.2

Information

30.8 32.2 32.3 32.5 1.7 5.5

Financial activities

170.3 175.1 175.8 177.0 6.7 3.9

Professional and business services

514.7 534.1 539.8 546.4 31.7 6.2

Education and health services

422.2 438.1 437.7 440.8 18.6 4.4

Leisure and hospitality

313.1 356.6 359.7 359.1 46.0 14.7

Other services

113.0 114.9 113.2 112.5 -0.5 -0.4

Government

433.1 411.2 428.0 439.3 6.2 1.4

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Total nonfarm

6,028.5 6,191.7 6,221.1 6,302.7 274.2 4.5

Mining and logging

2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.0 0.0

Construction

252.4 268.4 265.9 268.9 16.5 6.5

Manufacturing

461.0 477.1 475.8 476.6 15.6 3.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,075.2 1,105.0 1,101.2 1,110.8 35.6 3.3

Information

254.6 258.4 256.5 261.9 7.3 2.9

Financial activities

324.3 328.7 325.8 328.4 4.1 1.3

Professional and business services

972.8 1,000.1 1,005.8 1,022.1 49.3 5.1

Education and health services

1,091.5 1,122.9 1,136.7 1,159.5 68.0 6.2

Leisure and hospitality

674.3 729.5 731.1 738.5 64.2 9.5

Other services

192.1 203.5 206.4 206.7 14.6 7.6

Government

728.3 696.1 713.9 727.3 -1.0 -0.1

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Total nonfarm

2,717.3 2,821.7 2,824.4 2,859.2 141.9 5.2

Mining and logging

0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.0 0.0

Construction

141.1 145.2 145.4 144.7 3.6 2.6

Manufacturing

90.1 96.4 96.1 96.9 6.8 7.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

618.2 642.5 643.1 652.1 33.9 5.5

Information

52.4 53.2 53.1 53.1 0.7 1.3

Financial activities

198.9 204.8 205.2 208.1 9.2 4.6

Professional and business services

480.4 493.8 490.4 498.6 18.2 3.8

Education and health services

414.7 428.9 433.8 438.5 23.8 5.7

Leisure and hospitality

302.4 331.4 331.2 337.9 35.5 11.7

Other services

113.0 121.2 121.3 121.6 8.6 7.6

Government

305.2 303.4 303.9 306.8 1.6 0.5

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Total nonfarm

9,491.8 9,801.5 9,809.4 9,896.9 405.1 4.3

Mining, logging, and construction

398.7 400.8 400.4 402.9 4.2 1.1

Manufacturing

336.2 343.7 341.7 342.4 6.2 1.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,624.2 1,651.7 1,663.4 1,679.6 55.4 3.4

Information

318.2 329.3 331.6 332.5 14.3 4.5

Financial activities

771.4 791.3 783.5 782.6 11.2 1.5

Professional and business services

1,576.9 1,639.2 1,635.4 1,647.9 71.0 4.5

Education and health services

2,021.7 2,051.5 2,069.9 2,108.2 86.5 4.3

Leisure and hospitality

778.6 929.5 886.8 881.7 103.1 13.2

Other services

378.5 406.6 402.1 406.3 27.8 7.3

Government

1,287.4 1,257.9 1,294.6 1,312.8 25.4 2.0

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Total nonfarm

2,916.8 2,980.5 2,991.7 3,015.8 99.0 3.4

Mining, logging, and construction

124.0 124.5 124.4 122.7 -1.3 -1.0

Manufacturing

174.3 180.1 180.0 180.5 6.2 3.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

531.5 546.5 546.8 553.3 21.8 4.1

Information

50.3 50.4 50.3 50.6 0.3 0.6

Financial activities

217.1 221.0 220.2 221.4 4.3 2.0

Professional and business services

480.0 501.0 496.7 499.9 19.9 4.1

Education and health services

652.2 655.9 668.7 681.1 28.9 4.4

Leisure and hospitality

240.7 273.0 259.3 255.8 15.1 6.3

Other services

114.9 120.6 119.1 119.8 4.9 4.3

Government

331.8 307.5 326.2 330.7 -1.1 -0.3

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

Total nonfarm

2,257.9 2,301.4 2,321.9 2,347.1 89.2 4.0

Mining and logging

2.8 3.1 3.1 3.2 0.4 14.3

Construction

139.4 146.5 147.4 148.0 8.6 6.2

Manufacturing

139.3 148.8 149.9 150.2 10.9 7.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

451.1 457.6 457.1 463.0 11.9 2.6

Information

41.6 43.6 42.8 42.3 0.7 1.7

Financial activities

216.5 215.2 214.4 216.3 -0.2 -0.1

Professional and business services

378.4 383.5 387.3 391.5 13.1 3.5

Education and health services

349.1 364.7 369.1 372.8 23.7 6.8

Leisure and hospitality

224.6 232.1 232.6 238.4 13.8 6.1

Other services

69.8 69.2 70.6 72.5 2.7 3.9

Government

245.3 237.1 247.6 248.9 3.6 1.5

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Total nonfarm

2,384.6 2,468.9 2,464.0 2,493.8 109.2 4.6

Mining and logging

0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.0

Construction

123.0 129.4 128.8 129.3 6.3 5.1

Manufacturing

148.0 155.8 157.1 157.7 9.7 6.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

350.5 361.6 359.4 363.7 13.2 3.8

Information

143.2 150.5 148.2 148.9 5.7 4.0

Financial activities

140.5 143.0 140.9 142.7 2.2 1.6

Professional and business services

501.3 531.0 525.8 532.8 31.5 6.3

Education and health services

368.6 370.1 371.4 378.6 10.0 2.7

Leisure and hospitality

218.9 241.4 241.0 243.7 24.8 11.3

Other services

77.3 84.9 84.4 85.2 7.9 10.2

Government

312.9 300.8 306.6 310.8 -2.1 -0.7

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Total nonfarm

3,272.6 3,304.8 3,315.2 3,336.9 64.3 2.0

Mining, logging, and construction

162.9 164.3 166.8 168.1 5.2 3.2

Manufacturing

55.6 56.6 56.6 57.3 1.7 3.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

396.5 408.3 406.4 409.3 12.8 3.2

Information

77.6 79.5 79.5 80.6 3.0 3.9

Financial activities

156.0 150.1 147.8 147.7 -8.3 -5.3

Professional and business services

796.3 802.6 802.1 806.5 10.2 1.3

Education and health services

429.7 434.4 438.6 448.0 18.3 4.3

Leisure and hospitality

283.8 313.1 307.5 305.7 21.9 7.7

Other services

194.1 199.2 197.9 199.1 5.0 2.6

Government

720.1 696.7 712.0 714.6 -5.5 -0.8

(1) U.S. data are preliminary for two months after they are first published.
(p) Preliminary

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, December 01, 2022