In 2010 survey of area residents, 38% of respondents stated that the biggest problem facing Houston was unemployment, poverty and the cost of loving (Klineberg, 2010). Employment is essential to gain access to health care, quality shelter, good communities, and quality of life among many other things. Education is a fundamental step in the process and indicators like the Drop-out Rate among high school students show trends leading to vulnerabilities like employment stability (Sanborn, 2012). In comparison to the 63 largest cities in the country Houston had the 18th highest unemployment rate in 2010.

Sustainability Benefit: The unemployment rate for Hispanics, which are the fastest growing segment of the population has not increased significantly between 1990 and 2010.

Sustainability Issue: In 2010 Houston had a very high unemployment rate at 10 percent.