Monday, October 19, 2026
What the work pays and how the job market looks, straight from the government's own numbers.
Unemployment rate
4.4%
August 2026 · down 0.1 point from last month · up 0.2 from a year ago
Jobs in Texas (not counting farms)
14,469,300
August 2026 · up 5,600 from last month · up 159,400 from a year ago
Construction jobs in Texas
924,900
August 2026 · up 1,600 from last month · up 17,400 from a year ago
Seasonally adjusted. The latest month can be revised.
40 in 100 Texas construction workers were born outside the United States (about 507,700 people, 2022)
About 23 in 100 are estimated to be undocumented (roughly 295,400 people, 2022)
Source: American Immigration Council, from the Census Bureau 2022 American Community Survey. “Born outside the U.S.” includes naturalized citizens and green-card holders. The Census does not ask about legal status, so the undocumented figure is an estimate, and the Census is known to undercount immigrants.
| Painters | 69.2% |
| Roofers | 63.9% |
| Drywall and ceiling tile installers | 63.9% |
| Construction laborers | 59.0% |
| Carpenters | 56.7% |
Electricians and plumbers: no Texas figure in this source.
The Pew Research Center put Texas at 2.1 million undocumented immigrants in 2023, or 9% of all Texas workers (5.6% nationwide). Nationally, construction has the highest share of any industry: 15% of its workers, and 19% in construction jobs specifically. Pew did not publish a Texas-only construction figure. Pew Research Center, August 2025. Estimate, not a count.
These numbers show who works in the trades. They do not by themselves show why pay is what it is; economists disagree about how much immigration affects wages, so this page leaves that argument to you.
| Trade | Typical hourly | Against prices, 5 years | Low to high | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbers and pipefitters | $28.77 | n/a | $18.40 to $39.37 | 44,090 |
| Electricians | $28.16 | n/a | $18.23 to $38.61 | 76,770 |
| AC and heating technicians | $27.77 | n/a | $18.32 to $39.36 | 34,730 |
| Welders | $25.64 | n/a | $18.45 to $38.58 | 52,000 |
| Heavy equipment operators | $24.26 | n/a | $18.70 to $33.66 | 55,540 |
| Carpenters | $23.51 | n/a | $17.78 to $31.69 | 33,540 |
| Auto service technicians | $23.23 | n/a | $14.12 to $39.29 | 69,750 |
| Drywall installers | $22.88 | n/a | $16.95 to $29.34 | 5,760 |
| Concrete finishers | $22.84 | n/a | $17.48 to $29.22 | 26,430 |
| General maintenance and repair (handyman work) | $22.44 | n/a | $14.88 to $35.68 | 140,580 |
| Roofers | $22.13 | n/a | $16.41 to $29.59 | 5,740 |
| Painters | $21.86 | n/a | $17.25 to $28.32 | 18,330 |
| Construction laborers | $19.53 | n/a | $15.65 to $27.37 | 123,250 |
| Landscaping workers | $17.66 | n/a | $13.85 to $23.03 | 63,430 |
Typical is the median: half of workers earn more, half earn less. Low to high runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile, so it leaves out the very bottom and very top. These are wages for employees; self-employed contractors, who set their own rates, are not counted. Survey year: 2025 (May reference month). Against prices compares the change in typical pay with the change in consumer prices (all items, U.S. average) over the same five years: a minus means pay fell behind prices.