Houston Area Employment — May 2025

Total nonfarm employment for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, metropolitan area stood at 3,471,300 over the year in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the employment level in the Houston area was little changed over the year, while the rate of increase nationally was 1.1 percent (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, May 2022–May 2025

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change for total nonfarm employment in the United States and the Houston metropolitan area, May 2022–May 2025
Period	United States	Houston
May 2022	4.7	6.3
Jun 2022	4.5	5.9
Jul 2022	4.2	5.9
Aug 2022	4.1	6.2
Sep 2022	3.9	6.1
Oct 2022	3.6	5.3
Nov 2022	3.3	5.1
Dec 2022	3.0	4.8
Jan 2023	3.2	5.7
Feb 2023	2.8	5.2
Mar 2023	2.6	5.2
Apr 2023	2.5	4.5
May 2023	2.5	4.4
Jun 2023	2.3	4.6
Jul 2023	1.9	3.3
Aug 2023	1.9	3.2
Sep 2023	1.8	3.3
Oct 2023	1.7	2.8
Nov 2023	1.6	2.5
Dec 2023	1.7	2.5
Jan 2024	1.5	2.0
Feb 2024	1.4	1.9
Mar 2024	1.5	1.9
Apr 2024	1.5	1.8
May 2024	1.4	1.8
Jun 2024	1.3	1.6
Jul 2024	1.3	0.7
Aug 2024	1.3	1.6
Sep 2024	1.3	1.2
Oct 2024	1.2	1.2
Nov 2024	1.2	1.3
Dec 2024	1.3	1.4
Jan 2025	1.4	1.6
Feb 2025	1.2	1.3
Mar 2025	1.1	1.0
Apr 2025	1.1	1.1
May 2025	1.1	0.9

Chart 2. Over-the-year net change for industry supersector employment in the Houston metropolitan area, May 2025

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Chart 2. Over-the-year net change for industry supersector employment in the Houston metropolitan area, May 2025
Industry	Net change (in thousands)
Trade, transportation, and utilities	10.8
Education and health services	9.9
Leisure and hospitality	6.4
Mining and logging	3.6
Other services	3.2
Financial activities	1.0
Manufacturing	0.6
Information	-0.5
Construction	-1.3
Professional and business services	-7.3
Note: An asterisk indicates statistical significance at the 90-percent confidence level. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in May 2025. Four of twelve areas gained total nonfarm payroll employment over the year: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (+95,300), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+46,800), Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL (+42,900), and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (+41,100). (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, had a 1.4-percent rate of job gain, followed by Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (+1.3 percent), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+1.1 percent), and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (+1.0 percent).

Bar chart of 12-month net changes (in thousands) in employment for the 12 largest metropolitan areas, May 2025, not seasonally adjusted. Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Over-the-year net change in total nonfarm employment for the 12 largest metropolitan areas, May 2025 (in thousands)
Area	Net change (in thousands)
New York*	95.3
Dallas*	46.8
Miami*	42.9
Philadelphia*	41.1
Houston	29.6
Los Angeles	28.8
Washington	27.3
Chicago	17.4
Phoenix	14.3
Boston	2.4
Atlanta	2.0
San Francisco	-21.3
Note: An asterisk indicates statistical significance at the 90-percent confidence level. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for June 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. (CT).

Changes to Metropolitan Statistical Area Delineations and Benchmarking

With the release of January 2025 data on March 17, 2025, all nonfarm payroll employment estimates for states and areas have been adjusted to 2024 benchmark levels. Additionally, Current Employment Statistics (CES) metropolitan statistical area (MSA) estimates have been updated to reflect the revised delineations based on the 2020 Census, available in OMB Bulletin No. 23-01. As a result of this update, new MSAs have been added to publication, some existing MSAs have undergone name and/or compositional changes, and other pre-existing areas have been dropped from publication. More information about MSA definitions in the CES program is available online. Details of these changes were published in the annual CES State and Area benchmark article.

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. More information about the CES data is available in the State Employment and Unemployment Summary and the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary. See the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Technical Note for more information on definitions and methodology.

Reliability of the employment 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. 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. Documentation on the reliability of state and area estimates is available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineations issued on July 21, 2023. 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-Pasadena-The Woodlands Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Waller Counties in Texas.

Additional information

State and area employment data from the CES program are available on the BLS website.

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	May 2024	Mar. 2025	Apr. 2025	May 2025(p)	May 2024 to May 2025(p)
Area and Industry	May 2024	Mar. 2025	Apr. 2025	May 2025(p)	Net change	Percent change
United States(1)
Total nonfarm	158,256	158,402	159,238	159,964	1,708	1.1
Mining and logging	624	619	621	624	0	0.0
Construction	8,237	8,071	8,218	8,354	117	1.4
Manufacturing	12,829	12,714	12,721	12,740	-89	-0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	28,794	28,862	28,848	28,954	160	0.6
Information	2,939	2,921	2,921	2,928	-11	-0.4
Financial activities	9,126	9,180	9,186	9,223	97	1.1
Professional and business services	22,682	22,351	22,571	22,618	-64	-0.3
Education and health services	26,375	27,222	27,337	27,296	921	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	17,076	16,558	16,858	17,331	255	1.5
Other services	5,983	5,993	6,019	6,059	76	1.3
Government	23,591	23,911	23,938	23,837	246	1.0
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands , TX Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm	3,441.7	3,455.8	3,467.7	3,471.3	29.6	0.9
Mining and logging	77.9	80.1	81.1	81.5	3.6	4.6
Construction	233.0	233.3	232.6	231.7	-1.3	-0.6
Manufacturing	238.1	238.5	239.5	238.7	0.6	0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	691.6	698.7	699.4	702.4	10.8	1.6
Information	30.1	29.2	29.3	29.6	-0.5	-1.7
Financial activities	180.4	181.1	181.0	181.4	1.0	0.6
Professional and business services	564.9	556.9	560.8	557.6	-7.3	-1.3
Education and health services	459.1	466.8	469.0	469.0	9.9	2.2
Leisure and hospitality	368.9	364.2	367.9	375.3	6.4	1.7
Other services	132.1	135.9	135.3	135.3	3.2	2.4
Government	465.6	471.1	471.8	468.8	3.2	0.7
(1) U.S. data are preliminary for two months after they are first published. (p) Preliminary

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector for the 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area	May 2024	Mar 2025	Apr 2025	May 2025(p)	May 2024 to May 2025(p)
Area	May 2024	Mar 2025	Apr 2025	May 2025(p)	Net change	Percent change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	3,118.0	3,110.0	3,109.1	3,120.0	2.0	0.1
Mining and logging	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1	0.0	0.0
Construction	150.7	147.9	146.3	146.1	-4.6	-3.1
Manufacturing	181.0	179.8	180.1	180.7	-0.3	-0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	660.8	651.2	650.1	650.2	-10.6	-1.6
Information	107.6	107.8	102.7	105.7	-1.9	-1.8
Financial activities	207.9	209.0	208.9	208.7	0.8	0.4
Professional and business services	572.1	566.5	569.5	570.0	-2.1	-0.4
Education and health services	442.1	460.1	459.5	462.7	20.6	4.7
Leisure and hospitality	322.1	308.6	313.9	318.9	-3.2	-1.0
Other services	110.2	110.0	109.8	109.4	-0.8	-0.7
Government	361.4	367.0	366.2	365.5	4.1	1.1
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,769.2	2,728.6	2,753.3	2,771.6	2.4	0.1
Mining, logging, and construction	124.8	114.9	119.1	122.8	-2.0	-1.6
Manufacturing	164.7	162.4	162.5	163.3	-1.4	-0.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	390.2	387.2	387.8	390.2	0.0	0.0
Information	77.2	75.5	76.0	76.7	-0.5	-0.6
Financial activities	177.4	178.9	179.5	180.1	2.7	1.5
Professional and business services	521.5	509.9	519.0	517.3	-4.2	-0.8
Education and health services	612.7	624.4	624.8	617.0	4.3	0.7
Leisure and hospitality	279.8	253.2	262.1	278.8	-1.0	-0.4
Other services	98.2	95.1	96.3	97.9	-0.3	-0.3
Government	322.7	327.1	326.2	327.5	4.8	1.5
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Total nonfarm	4,737.7	4,678.3	4,706.3	4,755.1	17.4	0.4
Mining and logging	1.7	1.6	1.7	1.7	0.0	0.0
Construction	183.4	167.1	176.0	183.5	0.1	0.1
Manufacturing	406.0	406.2	404.8	402.0	-4.0	-1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	942.3	936.5	933.8	936.3	-6.0	-0.6
Information	75.3	75.3	75.6	76.3	1.0	1.3
Financial activities	311.8	312.6	313.3	315.0	3.2	1.0
Professional and business services	816.0	789.2	795.4	806.4	-9.6	-1.2
Education and health services	770.9	782.0	786.8	786.8	15.9	2.1
Leisure and hospitality	478.6	456.3	467.9	485.6	7.0	1.5
Other services	193.4	194.2	194.1	195.4	2.0	1.0
Government	558.3	557.3	556.9	566.1	7.8	1.4
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	4,262.4	4,275.8	4,294.6	4,309.2	46.8	1.1
Mining, logging, and construction	253.6	256.5	258.3	261.8	8.2	3.2
Manufacturing	310.9	308.5	308.1	308.8	-2.1	-0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	884.2	891.3	889.9	893.1	8.9	1.0
Information	88.2	89.4	89.0	87.9	-0.3	-0.3
Financial activities	378.1	382.6	383.3	384.9	6.8	1.8
Professional and business services	774.8	764.7	771.2	766.5	-8.3	-1.1
Education and health services	512.0	518.2	520.1	522.1	10.1	2.0
Leisure and hospitality	433.1	429.5	437.4	444.3	11.2	2.6
Other services	140.7	140.2	140.3	141.1	0.4	0.3
Government	486.8	494.9	497.0	498.7	11.9	2.4
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Total nonfarm	3,441.7	3,455.8	3,467.7	3,471.3	29.6	0.9
Mining and logging	77.9	80.1	81.1	81.5	3.6	4.6
Construction	233.0	233.3	232.6	231.7	-1.3	-0.6
Manufacturing	238.1	238.5	239.5	238.7	0.6	0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	691.6	698.7	699.4	702.4	10.8	1.6
Information	30.1	29.2	29.3	29.6	-0.5	-1.7
Financial activities	180.4	181.1	181.0	181.4	1.0	0.6
Professional and business services	564.9	556.9	560.8	557.6	-7.3	-1.3
Education and health services	459.1	466.8	469.0	469.0	9.9	2.2
Leisure and hospitality	368.9	364.2	367.9	375.3	6.4	1.7
Other services	132.1	135.9	135.3	135.3	3.2	2.4
Government	465.6	471.1	471.8	468.8	3.2	0.7
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	6,278.5	6,262.7	6,287.8	6,307.3	28.8	0.5
Mining and logging	2.1	2.0	2.1	2.1	0.0	0.0
Construction	255.8	242.9	247.7	247.6	-8.2	-3.2
Manufacturing	467.5	450.6	450.0	450.6	-16.9	-3.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,062.5	1,060.1	1,057.7	1,059.0	-3.5	-0.3
Information	213.5	207.2	209.4	210.0	-3.5	-1.6
Financial activities	311.1	303.0	303.5	304.0	-7.1	-2.3
Professional and business services	967.3	960.1	960.8	961.7	-5.6	-0.6
Education and health services	1,241.4	1,296.5	1,303.7	1,303.0	61.6	5.0
Leisure and hospitality	776.3	755.3	764.4	775.4	-0.9	-0.1
Other services	216.1	211.4	212.8	215.3	-0.8	-0.4
Government	764.9	773.6	775.7	778.6	13.7	1.8
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,962.3	2,995.1	3,000.3	3,005.2	42.9	1.4
Mining and logging	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.0	0.0
Construction	157.7	159.9	160.6	161.3	3.6	2.3
Manufacturing	101.7	102.6	102.4	103.4	1.7	1.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	653.5	667.3	664.9	665.9	12.4	1.9
Information	54.8	54.4	53.8	53.7	-1.1	-2.0
Financial activities	219.9	220.1	220.0	221.4	1.5	0.7
Professional and business services	518.7	516.4	521.9	522.2	3.5	0.7
Education and health services	462.7	473.6	475.9	475.1	12.4	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	354.2	355.9	356.9	356.9	2.7	0.8
Other services	118.4	119.3	119.4	120.0	1.6	1.4
Government	319.8	324.7	323.6	324.4	4.6	1.4
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Total nonfarm	9,975.4	9,954.3	10,009.5	10,070.7	95.3	1.0
Mining, logging, and construction	391.5	368.8	376.5	381.5	-10.0	-2.6
Manufacturing	331.5	330.3	330.3	329.5	-2.0	-0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,595.3	1,585.3	1,578.3	1,587.0	-8.3	-0.5
Information	312.7	309.8	309.8	309.3	-3.4	-1.1
Financial activities	815.3	814.0	814.5	813.7	-1.6	-0.2
Professional and business services	1,624.1	1,594.9	1,611.4	1,618.2	-5.9	-0.4
Education and health services	2,279.9	2,364.0	2,382.4	2,387.0	107.1	4.7
Leisure and hospitality	927.3	868.8	884.8	928.9	1.6	0.2
Other services	401.3	401.1	402.0	403.3	2.0	0.5
Government	1,296.5	1,317.3	1,319.5	1,312.3	15.8	1.2
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	3,113.0	3,114.0	3,138.3	3,154.1	41.1	1.3
Mining, logging, and construction	124.9	117.7	120.9	122.6	-2.3	-1.8
Manufacturing	178.4	177.1	177.8	178.4	0.0	0.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	540.7	541.1	540.4	544.1	3.4	0.6
Information	52.1	51.0	51.0	51.2	-0.9	-1.7
Financial activities	225.7	222.9	224.2	224.7	-1.0	-0.4
Professional and business services	500.5	494.8	501.5	502.6	2.1	0.4
Education and health services	730.6	758.3	763.4	757.7	27.1	3.7
Leisure and hospitality	286.4	266.0	274.5	289.1	2.7	0.9
Other services	126.0	129.4	129.5	131.1	5.1	4.0
Government	347.7	355.7	355.1	352.6	4.9	1.4
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
Total nonfarm	2,447.0	2,460.1	2,476.7	2,461.3	14.3	0.6
Mining and logging	3.6	3.9	3.9	3.9	0.3	8.3
Construction	180.1	179.2	181.6	179.4	-0.7	-0.4
Manufacturing	149.7	148.2	147.2	147.0	-2.7	-1.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	469.5	465.4	468.3	465.3	-4.2	-0.9
Information	41.1	38.5	39.4	39.2	-1.9	-4.6
Financial activities	209.4	209.9	210.0	210.4	1.0	0.5
Professional and business services	389.5	385.7	388.6	385.7	-3.8	-1.0
Education and health services	402.5	418.2	424.7	422.8	20.3	5.0
Leisure and hospitality	268.6	269.1	269.3	268.5	-0.1	0.0
Other services	78.4	79.3	80.4	79.7	1.3	1.7
Government	254.6	262.7	263.3	259.4	4.8	1.9
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Total nonfarm	2,449.4	2,416.8	2,422.8	2,428.1	-21.3	-0.9
Mining and logging	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.0	0.0
Construction	120.5	113.6	115.6	116.5	-4.0	-3.3
Manufacturing	141.9	133.4	132.8	132.5	-9.4	-6.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	341.3	342.3	341.3	341.9	0.6	0.2
Information	135.7	132.8	131.5	130.4	-5.3	-3.9
Financial activities	131.5	127.7	127.9	128.2	-3.3	-2.5
Professional and business services	491.8	483.1	483.7	482.2	-9.6	-2.0
Education and health services	413.0	425.2	428.3	427.5	14.5	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	254.9	242.2	243.5	247.7	-7.2	-2.8
Other services	87.9	86.2	87.0	88.0	0.1	0.1
Government	330.5	329.9	330.8	332.8	2.3	0.7
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,380.4	3,380.9	3,396.5	3,407.7	27.3	0.8
Mining, logging, and construction	164.1	168.7	174.7	176.4	12.3	7.5
Manufacturing	56.7	56.9	57.0	56.9	0.2	0.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	398.3	398.4	397.3	399.7	1.4	0.4
Information	81.0	80.9	80.6	80.8	-0.2	-0.2
Financial activities	153.4	153.7	154.3	153.7	0.3	0.2
Professional and business services	808.5	801.5	801.4	804.3	-4.2	-0.5
Education and health services	475.0	493.5	494.3	491.5	16.5	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	331.4	314.4	323.6	332.7	1.3	0.4
Other services	184.3	183.3	185.8	187.9	3.6	2.0
Government	727.7	729.6	727.5	723.8	-3.9	-0.5
(p) Preliminary

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, July 02, 2025

Southwest Information Office

Houston Area Employment — May 2025