(HOUSTON) Houston-area employers added another 7,000 jobs in December to finish out 2017 on positive note, according to employment figures released this morning by Workforce Solutions-Gulf Coast.
The Wholesale Trade sector contributed the most jobs in December, adding 4,800 positions, with the bulk of that coming from a combination of durable goods wholesalers (+2,400) and warehousing and transportation (+1,500)
“I think the bigger story, though, is in the Construction sector,” said Parker Harvey, senior economist at Workforce Solutions. “Contractors began shedding jobs about mid-year 2016 with the trend continuing through most of 2017, then Hurricane Harvey came along.”
“The construction industry has seen rapid improvement since the storm, but it remains to be seen if that carries over into 2018 as recover efforts taper off,” he explained.
The Houston area’s not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%. While higher than the state-wide and national averages, it is down one full point from December 2016.
The Texas Workforce Commission will release revised employment numbers for 2017, as well as figures for January 2018, on March 9.