Gulf Coast Workforce Highlights

Detailed Information for Health Care and Social Assistance, NAICS 62

The rate of unemployment in The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA fell four-tenths of a percentage point to 4.1 percent in December, three-tenths of a percentage point higher than a year earlier.

The H-W-S MSA added 5,700 jobs in December. The 0.2 percent increase was weaker than the pre-pandemic historical average of 0.4 percent.

Largest November increases were found in:

• Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, up 11,500 jobs
  • Wholesale Trade, up 1,600 jobs
  • Retail Trade, up 3,900 jobs
  • Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities, up 1,400 jobs
• Other Services, up 1,300 jobs
• Government, up 700 jobs
• Manufacturing, up 600 jobs

December declines were found in:

• Leisure and Hospitality, down 2,100 jobs
• Private Education and Health Services, down 1,400 jobs
• Professional and Business Services, down 600 jobs
• Construction, down 400 jobs
• Mining and Logging, down 300 jobs

Payrolls in the H-W-S MSA were up 57,800 jobs over the year in December with the pace of job growth at 1.7 percent. All eleven industry super sectors were reporting over-the-year increases.

Largest over-the-year gains were found in:

• Construction, up 15,200 jobs or 6.5 percent
• Private Education and Health Services, up 10,100 jobs or 2.2 percent
• Financial Activities, up 8,400 jobs or 4.5 percent
• Leisure and Hospitality, up 6,700 jobs or 1.9 percent 

Monthly estimate data does not reveal the most detailed information, but it is the timeliest. Nevertheless, sub-sectors can be reviewed in more detail by using employers' payroll records. The payroll record data below is reported at the 13-county Gulf Coast region level and includes public and private employment.

There are four sub-sectors within Health Care and Social Assistance: Ambulatory Health Care Services; Hospitals; Nursing and Residential Care Facilities; and Social Assistance. All sub-four sectors reported over-the-year increases. The largest increase was in Ambulatory Health Care Services, up 10,126 jobs or 5.6 percent, with healthy increases found in all subsectors except for Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories where employment was affected by declining demand due to the pandemic. Hospitals experienced the second largest increase of 6,923 jobs, up 5.4 percent. The strongest increase was in Social Assistance, up 4,063 jobs or 7.4 percent with the bulk of the increase at Child Day Care Services to support the rise in the number of individuals returning to work after the pandemic.  Nursing Care and Residential Care Facilities also managed healthy increase of 1,913 jobs, up 5.7 percent.  

Monthly data is not available at the thirteen county Gulf Coast Region level and is only provided for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The MSA has nine counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller. 

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