The report shows the 30,900 projected jobs in 2026, 14,000 if those jobs are in the healthcare industry according to a report by the Greater Houston Partnership. That’s 45 percent of the total expected job growth.
Healthcare Expert and Policy Strategist, Dan Varroney, says the over 65 demographics will continue expanding through 2035. “Older populations consume 3-5 times more health services per capita than working age adults. Longer life expectancy- means more use of managed care- not just acute episodes. This isn’t temporary- that will create a rationing demand curve for healthcare workers in Houston.” Varroney said.
Chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity these illnesses remain prevalent in Texas.
He says the industry is highly labor intensive. As more outpatient clinics are on the rise to meet population demands, there will be a demand for nurse practitioners, techs, billing managers, and case managers, as well as behavior specialists and social service workers.
“Co-Vid helped deliver a worker-quality of life- allowing employees to work from home. The administrative compliance that will be necessary to support that larger burden. Billing jobs, pre-admission screening and questionnaires- that can all be done from home. That is what is going to facilitate that growth in the healthcare care worker industry.” He said.
Behind the health care sector, construction jobs added just over 6,000 jobs followed by public education adding almost 6,000 jobs.
The report shows that while the 30,900-job forecast falls short of the region’s recent average of roughly 50,000 new jobs per year, the city is thriving in line with promising employment gains in 2026.