NEWS BRIEFS 2021 Houston job growth sets record
Lone Star College System increases tuition rates
Employment recovery
Percentage of jobs left to recoup by industry: 158.3%* Manufacturing
BY JISHNU NAIR
the most during the early stages of the pandemic,” Jankowski said. “Restaurants and bars lost nearly 100,000 jobs, and they’ve gotten back all but a few of them.” Jankowski raised concerns about potential data-reporting issues for government employees, specifically teachers. Although the TWC and the GHP reported little to no job growth, the Texas Education Agency also reported 40,724 new hires statewide in the 2020-21 school year. Out of the 20 largest metropolitan areas, Houston ranks 10th in terms of jobs recouped with 87% of the area’s employment returning to prepandemic levels, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dallas with 126.6% and Phoenix with 123.8% are the highest-ranking American metropolitan areas in terms of jobs recouped. Jankowski said Houston’s per- formance should not be attributed to the area’s energy sector, which
BY ANDREW CHRISTMAN
Patrick Jankowski, the Greater Houston Partnership’s senior vice president of research, said in a March 9 webinar that 2021 was the best year on record for Houston job growth. The Houston area reported 151,800 new jobs in 2021, beating out the previous record of 126,981 in 1981. Jankowski estimated the region will pass the 3.1 million total jobs mark in 2022, which would still be short of prepandemic levels of over 3.2 million. “We’re still short jobs. ... We’ve got almost all of them back, but we’ve got a little bit left [to make up],” he said. Restaurants and bars saw the strongest job recovery in 2021 with 19,500 new jobs, per the Texas Workforce Commission and the GHP. Jankowski highlighted the sector’s struggles during pandemic restrictions. “That was nice to see, considering that was the sector that suffered
118.7%* Government
Prior to discussions for the fiscal year 2022-23 budget, the Lone Star College System board approved tui- tion rate increases during the March 8 meeting, which will take effect for the fall 2022 semester. During a March 3 budget retreat, LSCS Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Mott said the system will need to prepare for at least a 6.6% increase in expenditures due to inflation. Mott said there are three main factors for revenue at LSCS: local taxes, tuition and fees, and state allocations. “For tuition, we are recommending a 6.6% increase in in-district tuition, matching that inflation rate,” she said. “This is $6 per credit hour.” Mott said out-of-district, out-of- state and international tuition rates would also potentially increase, equaling $12 more per credit hour. The LSCS budget will be presented to the board of trustees for final approval in August.
115.4%* Construction
89.1%
Real estate
87.6% Wholesale trade
68.9% Information 41.4% Arts & recreation
61.8% Hotels
8.9% Restaurants & bars
3.3% Energy
*DATA INDICATES THE INDUSTRY HAS CONTINUED TO LOSE JOBS AFTER THE SHUTDOWN.
SOURCES: GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP, TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER recovered about 75,000 jobs, or prepandemic levels, but rather to construction and manufacturing jobs. Data shows construction is 27,700 jobs short of its prepan- demic mark, while manufacturing is 18,200 jobs short.
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CY-FAIR EDITION • APRIL 2022
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