2018 a good year for jobs in Texas, Houston
Metropolitan area picked up 111,000 in 2018, with employers adding them every month and growth showing up in nearly every sector
The Houston and Texas economies extended their streaks for creating jobs in December, capping off the strongest year for employment growth since 2014.
Buoyed by the oil industry recovery and solid national expansion, Houston-area employers added jobs for 15 consecutive months, helping to push the unemployment rate to 3.9 percent, the lowest December level since 2000. Texas gained jobs for the 30th consecutive month as the state jobless rate held at its record low of 3.7 percent, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday.
For the most part, 2018 was the year that the Houston economy regained its momentum after a brutal oil bust that began in late 2014 and had a painfully slow recovery. The metropolitan area added 111,000 jobs last year, approaching gains at the height of the last oil boom four years ago, according to preliminary estimates. Employment grew at a rate of 3.6 percent in 2018, exceeding the growth rate of both the state (3.2
percent) and the nation (1.8 percent)
The state gained nearly 400,000 jobs in 2018, including 38,000 in December. Texas payroll employment reached a new high of 12.7 million jobs.
Houston added 3,700 jobs in December. Over the year, job growth in the region was spread across 10 of the 11 major sectors.
The sector that captures the oil and gas industry grew by 4,500 jobs, or nearly 6 percent, in Houston, led by energy services companies. Oil prices mostly rose in 2018, reaching a peak of $76 a barrel in October before plunging 40 percent to $42 a barrel at the end of the year. Oil settled Friday at $53.80 a barrel.
Manufacturing, which is closely linked to the oil and gas industry, added nearly 16,000 jobs over the year, a 7 percent gain. As the rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey continued, construction employment jumped by more than 19,000 jobs, or 8 percent. Professional and business services added more than 28,000
Economists expect the pace of economic growth across the state and nation to slow but still advance steadily in 2019.
jobs over the year, an increase of nearly 6 percent, while jobs in education and health services rose by nearly 13,000, or 3 percent.
In Texas, oil and gas industry employment surged by 18 percent, or more than 40,000 jobs. Construction added more than 47,000 jobs in 2018, an increase of more than 6 percent. Manufacturers added nearly 40,000 jobs over the year, boosting payrolls by 4.5 percent.
Economists expect the pace of economic growth across the state and nation to slow but still advance steadily in 2019. Tariffs, higher interest rates and labor shortages are likely to contribute to the slowdown. Analysts also expect a slowdown in the energy industry as prices recover slowly from the recent rout.