Leisure and hospitality industry employment in metro Houston hit 369,200 jobs in June 2024, a modest 0.6% increase over June 2023 and a 7.6% increase from pre-pandemic sector totals.
The industry accounts for 10.7% of the region’s 3.46 million nonfarm jobs. Total nonfarm employment is up 2% over the same period a year ago.
Leisure and hospitality—which includes accommodation and food services as well as arts, entertainment, and recreation—has increased by about 26,200 jobs since 2019, the year prior to COVID-19 restricting travel.
About 5.2% of hospitality jobs in the region are currently open, lower than the 6% of all jobs currently open in the market. That’s down from a peak of nearly 10% in December 2022 but still above 2019 openings.
Among leisure and hospitality subsectors:
- Accommodation and food services employment has increased 8.2% since 2019
- Arts, entertainment and recreation employment has grown by 3.4%
Written by A.J. Mistretta
