EL PASO, TX – During the month of June 2023, Texas border cities such as Brownsville and McAllen showed slight variations in their annualized unemployment rate, while cities such as El Paso and Laredo remained unchanged, according to figures presented by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).
According to the TWC report, Texas again broke three records for the number of jobs, the number of workers and the size of the state’s civilian labor force.
Total nonfarm employment increased by 31,100 jobs over the month to reach a record high of 13,944,600 jobs and achieved 28 consecutive months of growth. Since June 2022, Texas increased by 542,500 jobs, the largest annual increase in the nation.
In addition, Texas’ employment growth rate continued to outpace with 4.0 percent annual growth from June 2022 to June 2023, outpacing any other state, as well as the nation’s 2.5 percent.
Texas’ seasonally adjusted civilian labor force grew over the month by 30,500 to 15,039,800 in June. The number of employed persons also reached a new record high at more than 14,429,900. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 4.1 per cent.
“More than 350,000 people have joined the Texas workforce since June 2022, making the Lone Star State a national leader as the best place to work and live,” said Bryan Daniel, TWC President.
The private education and health services sector added the most jobs with 11,900, followed closely by construction with 11,000. Manufacturing added 6,100 jobs during the month. Annual employment growth in Texas through June 2023 was higher than the national rate in all industries except one, Leisure and Hospitality.
The Midland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) achieved the lowest unemployment rate among Texas MSAs, with a non-seasonally adjusted rate of 2.6 percent in June, followed by Amarillo at 3.3 percent and Odessa at 3.4 percent.
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area posted the second largest year-over-year increase in the number of jobs in the country, not seasonally adjusted. Meanwhile, Midland had the largest percentage increase, followed by Odessa with the second largest increase in the nation among all MSAs.
El Paso, recorded a non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate last June of 4.5, unchanged from the same month in 2022. Brownsville had a rate of 5.9, down from 6.1 a year earlier.
Laredo recorded an unemployment rate of 4.5 in June 2023, unchanged from last year, while McAllen, at 6.7 at the end of the sixth month of the year, was down from 7.1 in June 2022.
According to the figures presented, El Paso closed June with a total of 17,000 unemployed persons, in contrast to the 16,900 registered a year ago, while 360,700 citizens were working this year. In Brownsville, 10,600 people ended June without work, 200 fewer than in 2022, while 168,500 were employed.
The city of Laredo reported 5,300 unemployed, the same number as in June 2022, while 113,300 people were working in June 2023; in McAllen, 25,500 citizens were looking for work, 800 more than a year ago, while 356,200 people were employed at the end of June 2023.
