(HOUSTON) Houston-area employers continue to hire according to data released today by Gulf Coast Workforce Solutions. The metro area added 10,700 jobs in June as companies added positions in the Professional & Business Services and Leisure & Hospitality sectors.
It’s the fifth straight month of job gains said Parker Harvey, senior economist with Workforce Solutions, “Most of this month’s growth was in the Professional & Business Services sector, meaning companies are looking to hire oil & gas consultants, management consultants, and general administrative staff.”
Harvey points out that last June, this sector was barely treading water adding only 100 jobs.
Despite the positive job growth, the area’s unemployment rate inched upward to 5.3%. Harvey attributes this to the typical summer hiring patterns, “Historically there’s a bump in the rate in June as teens and young adults enter the workforce and seasonal contract jobs, especially in the public sector, end.”
June 2017 leading sectors: Professional & Business services +7,100; Leisure & Hospitality +4,100.
June 2017 declining sectors: Government -5,300; Construction -2,300.
The Texas Workforce Commission will release employment numbers for July 2017 on August 18.
ABOUT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS: Workforce Solutions, the public workforce system in the 13-county Houston-Galveston region, helps employers meet human resource needs and area residents build careers so both can better compete in the global economy. Offering placement, career counseling and financial aid services, Workforce Solutions operates multiple community-based career offices to help residents find employment or advance their careers. As part of the statewide Texas Workforce Solutions network, we partner with the Texas Workforce Commission and other workforce boards in the largest job-matching database in the state – WorkInTexas.com.