Statistical Fluke? Summer Jobs Drop Like A Rock In June

  But the Professional & Business Services and Construction sectors see record hiring for the month. (HOUSTON, TX) Houston-area employers added 5,400 jobs in June, well below the historical average for the month according to data released Friday by Workforce Solutions. Not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rose 0.1 percent to 4.5 percent last month. Professional & Business Services added 5,800 jobs in June, mostly in high-skill high-paying technical, professional, and management positions. “This sector has seen 27 consecutive months of growth”, said Workforce Solutions economist Parker Harvey. “Year over year, it’s added more than 28,000 jobs and we’ve now recovered all the jobs lost during the pandemic plus added an additional 50,500.” Construction saw the largest increase in hiring, rising a record 6,500 – far outside the norm for the summer month according to Parker Harvey, chief economist at the regional workforce development agency. “Typically this sector adds only about 600 jobs during June, so this is quite a bit out of character; particularly given continued high interest rates and the extreme heat we’ve been experiencing,” he said. “It bears watching to see if, and by how much, this gets revised along with other months this year, which have also been out of character for the industry.” Government, mostly composed of public schools, shed jobs last month, down 7,500. This is part of the annual cycle of job losses at the beginning of summer, with schools sheding support personnel and teachers for the summer holiday. Atypical for summer, hiring in the Leisure and Hospitality sector took a nosedive, recording a month-over-month loss of 6,000. “If there are no revisions next month and more importantly next spring, it will be the largest-ever decline on record for June, but I’m doubtful there’ve been mass layoffs going into peak summer vacation season,” Harvey said. Additional labor market information, including the detailed March report can be found online at www.wrksolutions.com/localstats. The Texas Workforce Commission will release May employment data on August 17, 2023. ABOUT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS: Workforce Solutions is dedicated to keeping the Texas Gulf Coast region a great place to do business, work and live. Our employer-driven, people-focused approach elevates the economic and human potential of the region to attract and retain the best employers, afford everyone the dignity of a job, and remain indispensable to the global economy. As the public workforce system for 13 counties in the Houston-Galveston region, we work in tandem with the Texas Workforce Commission and the statewide Workforce Solutions network to maintain the state’s largest job-match database – www.WorkInTexas.com.