BROWNSVILLE, TX – During the month of April 2024, the unemployment rate in Brownsville showed a slight decrease in its annual comparison, according to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), while in the rest of the border cities, the figures were unchanged.
El Paso registered a non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.9 last April, unchanged from the same month in 2023. Brownsville had a rate of 4.8, down from 5.0 a year earlier.
Laredo registered an unemployment rate of 3.7 in April 2024, unchanged from the previous year, while McAllen reached 5.4 at the end of the fourth month, the same figure as in April 2023.
According to the figures presented, El Paso closed April with a total of 14,900 unemployed people, contrasting with the 14,800 that were registered a year ago; while 370,600 citizens were working this year. In Brownsville, 9,000 people ended April without work, the same as those recorded in 2023, while 176,000 were employed this year.
The city of Laredo reported 4,600 unemployed at the end of the fourth month of 2024, compared to 4,400 in the same period of 2023, while 118,200 people were working in April 2024; in McAllen, 20,700 citizens were looking for work, while 362,600 people were employed at the end of April 2024.
The Texas labor market has once again broken records for jobs. April marked a streak of 37 consecutive months of positive annual employment growth.
Texas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment increased to 14 million 159 thousand after 42 thousand 600 jobs were added during April, reflecting growth in 46 of the last 48 months.
Texas added 306 thousand jobs between April 2023 and April 2024. Texas’ annual nonfarm growth rate currently stands at 2.2%, outpacing the U.S. growth rate by 0.4 percentage points.
In April, Texas’ seasonally adjusted civilian labor force grew by 37 thousand people, reaching a new high of 15 million 226,800. This included the addition of 32,500 employed Texans during the month. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came in at 4.0%.
Private Educational and Health Services added 12 thousand jobs, registering as the industry with the largest increase over the month. Another 9,800 jobs were added in Trade, Transportation and Utilities. Professional and Business Services added 7,600 jobs in April, TWC reported.
The Midland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had the lowest unemployment rate among Texas MSAs with a not seasonally adjusted rate of 2.2 percent in April, reflecting a 0.4 percentage point drop from its March unemployment rate. The Amarillo and College Station-Bryan MSAs followed with an unemployment rate of 2.6 percent for the month.
