Economic & Employment Impact

Exploring how COVID-19 impacted employment and economic security in Greater Houston

Beyond the human toll of COVID-19, the pandemic has caused the worst financial situation we have seen in generations. Thousands of families are struggling while also grieving the loss of loved ones.

The data

We will continue to update the site based on more recent data releases and research on how COVID-19 is affecting our region and residents.

Job Loss

COVID-19’s sweeping impacts on the nation’s economy began in March as individuals began staying at home and governments began to issue lockdowns in an effort to flatten the negative health curve. As the economy slowed, workers were laid off and production levels were cut. From the individual worker to entire industries, almost everyone was financially affected, though some more than others. 

In January and February 2020, unemployment rates in each of Greater Houston’s three counties and Texas was below four percent. Of course, unemployment peaked in April and May, 2020 — soaring to 13.0% in Fort Bend, 14.6% in Harris, and 13.2% in Montgomery counties — the highest on record. As of June 2021, unemployment rates are closer than what they were before the pandemic — 6.9% in Fort Bend, 7.4% in Harris, and 6.8% in Montgomery. June 2021 unemployment rates in the three-county region are slightly higher than they are for Texas (6.6%) and the U.S. overall (6.1%).

Unemployment insurance claims filed by individuals for the first time in the three-county region spiked late-March and early-April 2020, reaching a peak of 67,221 across the region during the week of April 4 alone. More than 1,761,800 people have filed for unemployment insurance at least once in the region between March 7, 2020 and July 10, 2021 — 125,903 in Fort Bend, 905,001 in Harris, and 84,350 in Montgomery counties.

In Year 1 of the pandemic, more than half of households in the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) have experienced income loss since March 13, according to March 2021 Household Pulse Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That rate climbs to 64% for Hispanic, 53% for Black, and 50% for Asian Houstonians. While white Houstonians have experienced the lowest rates of job loss, about two out five have still been affected since the beginning of the pandemic.

In Year 2 of the pandemic, about one-quarter of Houstonians report lost employment income in the last four weeks as of May 2021. Hispanic and Black Houstonians continue to report higher levels of employment income than the regional average.

In Year 1 of the pandemic, adults in lower-income households in the Houston metro area have experienced the highest rates of income loss since March 13, 2020 while those in households within the highest income group have experienced the lowest rates of income loss. In March 2021, 70% of households with annual incomes less than $25,000 have lost income compared to 21% of households that earn more than $200,000 per year. An increasingly larger share of adults in households that earn between $35,000 and $49,999 per year have reported income loss since the beginning of the survey in mid-April 2020.

Lower-income workers overwhelmingly work on the front lines of the service industry such as in retail, restaurants and bars, accommodation — the sectors with the most job losses as a result of business closures due to the virus.

In Year 2 of the pandemic, Houstonians report lower levels of lost income in the last four weeks, though the trend of the lowest-paid workers experiencing the highest rates of income loss continues. 

Economic stimulus payments

Economic stimulus payments

The economic stimulus payments that eligible Americans received around mid-April seemed to provide a much needed boost for Houstonians. The vast majority used the money to pay for important expenses rather than add it to savings, indicating the urgency with which people need an infusion of cash.

About one out of five respondents did not receive or expect to receive the payment. Of those that did receive a stimulus payment, two-thirds of adults in the Houston metro area used stimulus checks to pay for basic needs such as food, clothing, rent, etc. A smaller proportion of the population used it to pay down debt or add to savings. 

Nearly three out of 10 Hispanic Houstonians reported they did not receive or expect to receive the stimulus benefit — the highest rate among racial/ethnic groups. One possible reason for this could be that most of Houston’s undocumented population is Hispanic, and households with even one unauthorized member were ineligible for this aid — including those in mixed-status families (i.e., where some family members are U.S. citizens and others are undocumented).

In general, lower-income households were more likely to spend the stimulus check on everyday expenses. For example, 84% of adults living in households with incomes between $35,000 and $49,999 spent their stimulus checks to pay for needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. While higher-income households were the least likely to receive a check, about a quarter who did put it toward savings rather than spend it.

Difficulty paying for expenses

The unprecedented number of job losses in the region, particularly among the working poor, has further constrained families who already lived paycheck to paycheck. The result is that more and more families are having trouble paying for basic necessities.

The proportion of families struggling to make ends meet gradually increased between August 2020 and the end of the year, but has tapered down since then as we head into Year 2 of the pandemic. However, nearly three out of 10 Houstonians still had a “very” or “somewhat” difficult time paying for the usual household expenses in late May 2021.  

Black and Latino households have had the most difficulty paying for expenses during the pandemic, though that figure has declined in Year 2. As of late May 2021, 38% of Black and Hispanic Houstonians report “very” or “somewhat” difficulty in paying for regular household expenses, although nearly one in five white and Asian-American households have also experienced some difficulty.