Employment in the Houston metropolitan area rose 1.3% through August 2026; construction and professional services advanced while information and finance lost ground.
The Houston metropolitan area added approximately 44,700 jobs during the 12 months ended August 2026, a sign of stronger growth after the slowdown recorded in 2025.
The increase brought nonfarm payroll employment in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands area to nearly 3.5 million jobs. However, growth was not distributed evenly: construction and professional services were among the sectors with the largest gains, while information, finance, manufacturing and mining posted year-over-year declines.
Houston posted 1.3% job growth over 12 months
Nonfarm payroll employment in the metropolitan area grew 1.3% between August 2025 and August 2026. Preliminary August data placed the total at about 3.495 million jobs.
The figure of 44,700 represents the net change in the number of jobs over a 12-month period. It does not mean that there are 44,700 vacancies currently nor that that number of people was hired in August.
Labor statistics measure the balance between jobs gained and jobs lost across different sectors of the economy. A company may eliminate jobs while another hires during the same period, and the result appears as growth or decline.
Construction grew 5.5% and surpassed 269,000 jobs
Construction posted one of the area’s largest percentage gains. The sector reached approximately 269,000 jobs in August, a year-over-year increase of 5.5%.
The growth equals around 14,000 additional positions compared with August 2025.
Houston maintains broad construction activity linked to housing, infrastructure, industrial installations and commercial projects, although job growth in the sector alone does not determine how many vacancies are currently available.
Professional services topped 581,000 jobs
Professional and business services also were among the sectors fueling growth. The metropolitan area recorded approximately 581,300 jobs in August, 2.6% higher than a year earlier.
This category covers a range of activities, including professional, technical, administrative and business-support services.
Education and health services also rose 1.3% over the year and reached approximately 476,400 jobs.
The leisure and hospitality sector, which includes restaurants, hotels and other related activities, logged around 376,900 jobs, also 1.3% higher than a year earlier.
Information fell 5.9% and finance lost 1.2% of its jobs
Not all sectors grew during the same period. Information posted the largest year-over-year decline among the major metro categories, down 5.9%. The sector stood at about 27,100 jobs in August.
Financial activities declined 1.2% and totaled about 176,700 jobs. Mining and extraction registered a reduction of 0.5%, while manufacturing slipped 0.2%.
Trade, transportation and utilities, one of the region’s largest job categories with about 695,600 positions, remained essentially unchanged from the year before.
In August growth slowed to around 900 jobs
The year-over-year comparison shows growth, but the monthly advance was considerably smaller. Between July and August, the metropolitan area moved from about 3.494 million to 3.495 million nonfarm jobs, a difference of roughly 900 jobs.
August is typically influenced by seasonal movements in education, government, leisure and other sectors, so a single month does not determine the direction of the regional labor market.
The most recent metro data are preliminary and may be revised in later publications.
Job growth does not equate to 44,700 available vacancies
For job seekers, the figures help identify which parts of the regional economy are growing, but they do not replace employer hiring data.
A sector can increase its total number of workers without maintaining the same number of open vacancies. Likewise, an industry that loses jobs on a net basis can still have companies hiring for specific positions.
Updated employment, unemployment and jobs by sector data for Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands can be found at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The next employment and unemployment update for the metropolitan areas is scheduled for September 30, 2026.
