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The unemployment rates for metro Houston, Texas, and the nation inched up in May, according to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Houston’s unemployment rate rose from 3.8 percent in April to 4.0 percent in May, Texas from 3.5 to 3.8 percent, and the U.S. from 3.5 to 3.7 percent.

There were 147,447 Houstonians unemployed and looking for work in May, up from 139,292 in April but down from 150,740 in May of last year. TWC estimates Houston’s labor force at 3,689,928, an increase of roughly 86,000 from a year ago.

Among cities in the metro area for which TWC publishes unemployment rates, College Station had the lowest rate in May and Port Arthur the highest.

Initial claims filed for unemployment benefits have ticked up in recent months, but that’s no cause for alarm. Claims typically rise, albeit marginally, in the early summer, then drop off as fall approaches. The average for early June this year is actually 16.3 percent below claims for the comparable period in ’23.

Continued claims filed by workers unemployed for a week or more inched up in May and are 4,300 higher than May of last year. However, continued claims remain well below the peak of 276,000 in July ’20. The approximately 33,000 individuals filing continued claims in May represent less than one percent of the region’s civilian workforce.

Prepared by Greater Houston Partnership Research

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

Clara Richardson
Associate Analyst, Research
crichardson@houston.org