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Metro Houston’s unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in November, unchanged from October. Texas’ rate was 4.2 percent, an uptick from 4.1 percent the prior month. The U.S. rate was 4.0 percent, a nudge up from 3.9 in October. The rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Over the past 12 months, the labor force has grown by 3.0 percent (an additional 111,000 workers). Over the past 10 years, the region has added over 500,000 workers. Despite the surge in the workforce, Houston’s unemployment rate in November ‘24 is exactly the same as it was in November ’14, i.e. 4.5 percent.

Among the cities in the Houston region for which TWC publishes unemployment rates, Bryan had the lowest in November, and Port Arthur had the highest.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits ticked up immediately after Hurricane Beryl hit Houston this summer but have since returned to normal levels. Claims averaged 3,991 per week in November, nominally up from 3,779 in October.

Continued claims filed by workers unemployed for a week or more rose immediately after Beryl and have tapered off since. November’s claims were essentially flat compared to October and up nominally compared to a year ago. 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

Clara Richardson
Research Analyst
crichardson@houston.org