• Job growth fell slightly below the historical average. Unemployment ticked up but remained low.
• Sales tax collections, a proxy for overall economic activity, were down in ’24.
• Inflation continued its downward trend, with prices rising slower in Houston than in the rest of the nation.
• Oil traded in a narrow range. The domestic rig count ratcheted down. U.S. production hit a new high.
• Though office and industrial construction slowed, other sectors picked up the pace.
• Homebuyers saw no relief with mortgage rates. The inventory of available homes rose dramatically. Home prices rose modestly.
• Developers delivered more Class A apartment units to the market, keeping downward pressure on rents.
• The Port of Houston set a record for container traffic and was on track to set a record for overall tonnage.
• Though air cargo volumes were down, air passenger traffic set a record.
• And as the year closed, the Houston Purchasing Managers Index suggested that Houston’s economy would continue to expand well into this year.

Details on how each sector fared in ’24 follow.

Employment

Houston created 57,800 jobs in ’24, finishing the year with payroll employment at 3.5 million, a record for the region. The December job count was 308,000 above where it stood in February ’20 prior to the pandemic.

Historically, Houston adds 65,000 to 70,000 jobs per year, significantly more in boom years, substantially less during busts. The somewhat slower growth in ’24 reflects Houston catching its breath after three years of explosive growth. 

Seventeen of the 19 major sectors tracked by the Texas Workforce Commission added jobs in ’24, the largest gains coming in construction, health care, wholesale trade, professional and business services, and restaurants and bars. These sectors benefitted from a strong U.S. economy, expanding global trade, local population growth, a host of corporate relocations to the region, consumer confidence above national levels, and a surge in construction activity. 

Only two sectors, retail and administrative support, lost jobs. The former suffered from a rash of retail bankruptcies and store closures, the latter from more Houstonians opting for gig work rather than seeking contract assignments through an employment agency.

The Partnership’s forecast for ’25 calls for the economy to return to a more sustainable pace of growth, the region adding 71,800 jobs over the next 12 months. Somewhat above the long-term trend of 65,000 to 70,000 per year. The forecast for ’24, released in December ’23, called for the region to add 57,600 jobs in ’24. For an economy with 3.5 million jobs, the 200-job difference is essentially a rounding error.

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Note: The geographic area referred to in this publication as “Houston,” "Houston Area” and “Metro Houston” is the ten-county Census designated metropolitan statistical area of Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX. The ten counties are: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Waller.