Texas Unemployment Rate Falls To 6.8 Percent In August
AUSTIN — In August, Texas saw a decrease in the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to 6.8 percent. This is the fourth consecutive monthly decrease and the lowest rate since March 2020 when the Texas economy was initially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Texas is below the national seasonally adjusted rate of 8.4 percent.
“The Texas unemployment rate continues to move in a positive direction as job seekers and employers adjust to current challenges,” said TWC Chairman Bryan Daniel. “TWC will continue our efforts to implement strategies designed to help strengthen the Texas economy.”
In August, the Professional and Business Services sector added 33,200 jobs, Trade, Transportation, and Utilities added 28,800 jobs and Government added 25,000 jobs.
“As our labor force continues to grow, it becomes extremely important to build skills that will not only help Texans find jobs but build careers,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Julian Alvarez. “TWC is proud to help all Texans connect with the necessary training and on the job programs to build the future they desire.”
The Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) recorded August’s lowest unemployment rate among Texas MSAs with a not seasonally adjusted rate of 4.2 percent, followed by the College Station-Bryan MSA with the second-lowest rate of 4.7 percent. The Abilene MSAs recorded the third-lowest rate of 4.9 percent.
“Our unemployment rate continues to demonstrate that our Texas employers are hiring,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Aaron Demerson. “Our office continues to be an essential resource to our Texas employers by providing them with relevant information as they continue to move forward during these unprecedented times.”
Employment estimates released by TWC are produced in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. All estimates are subject to revision.
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| August 2020 | July 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emp. | Unemp. | Rate | Emp. | Unemp. | Rate | |
| United States | 147,224.0 | 13,742.0 | 8.5% | 144,492.0 | 16,882.0 | 10.5% |
| Texas | 13,329.3 | 996.3 | 7.0% | 12,706.7 | 1,151.6 | 8.3% |
| Abilene | 76.0 | 3.9 | 4.9% | 72.4 | 4.6 | 6.0% |
| Amarillo | 124.5 | 5.5 | 4.2% | 118.9 | 6.5 | 5.2% |
| Austin-Round Rock- San Marcos |
1,208.9 | 70.1 | 5.5% | 1,141.7 | 82.8 | 6.8% |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur | 154.4 | 17.8 | 10.3% | 148.1 | 20.3 | 12.0% |
| Brownsville-Harlingen | 154.7 | 15.9 | 9.3% | 146.5 | 18.3 | 11.1% |
| College Station-Bryan | 131.7 | 6.5 | 4.7% | 125.0 | 7.7 | 5.8% |
| Corpus Christi | 190.2 | 17.4 | 8.4% | 181.4 | 20.3 | 10.1% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 3,828.8 | 257.0 | 6.3% | 3,650.1 | 299.7 | 7.6% |
| Dallas-Plano- Irving MD |
2,596.0 | 171.9 | 6.2% | 2,468.4 | 200.5 | 7.5% |
| Fort Worth-Arlington MD | 1,232.7 | 85.1 | 6.5% | 1,181.7 | 99.1 | 7.7% |
| El Paso | 344.3 | 27.1 | 7.3% | 326.2 | 31.5 | 8.8% |
| Houston- The Woodlands- Sugar Land |
3,203.5 | 282.3 | 8.1% | 3,071.6 | 323.0 | 9.5% |
| Killeen-Temple | 169.9 | 10.9 | 6.0% | 161.8 | 12.5 | 7.2% |
| Laredo | 110.1 | 9.4 | 7.8% | 105.1 | 10.7 | 9.2% |
| Longview | 91.5 | 7.2 | 7.3% | 87.1 | 8.1 | 8.5% |
| Lubbock | 156.0 | 8.5 | 5.2% | 149.0 | 10.2 | 6.4% |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | 322.7 | 39.4 | 10.9% | 307.7 | 44.3 | 12.6% |
| Midland | 97.7 | 8.6 | 8.1% | 93.0 | 9.7 | 9.5% |
| Odessa | 78.0 | 9.7 | 11.1% | 74.8 | 10.8 | 12.7% |
| San Angelo | 50.6 | 3.2 | 6.0% | 48.4 | 3.8 | 7.4% |
| San Antonio- New Braunfels |
1,153.1 | 81.1 | 6.6% | 1,097.8 | 95.4 | 8.0% |
| Sherman-Denison | 62.6 | 3.3 | 5.0% | 60.2 | 3.8 | 5.9% |
| Texarkana | 61.4 | 4.4 | 6.7% | 59.3 | 4.9 | 7.6% |
| Tyler | 103.0 | 6.6 | 6.0% | 98.2 | 7.7 | 7.2% |
| Victoria | 42.8 | 3.4 | 7.5% | 41.0 | 4.3 | 9.4% |
| Waco | 124.4 | 7.0 | 5.4% | 118.1 | 8.3 | 6.6% |
| Wichita Falls | 61.8 | 3.8 | 5.9% | 58.5 | 4.5 | 7.2% |
| INDUSTRY TITLE | Aug 2020* | Jul 2020 | Aug 2019 | Jul ’20 to Aug ’20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Change | Percent Change | ||||
| Total Nonagricultural | 12,219,400 | 12,112,600 | 12,836,000 | 106,800 | 0.9% |
| Total Private | 10,264,900 | 10,183,100 | 10,852,900 | 81,800 | 0.8% |
| Goods Producing | 1,796,200 | 1,794,600 | 1,936,400 | 1,600 | 0.1% |
| Mining and Logging | 187,300 | 190,200 | 248,300 | -2,900 | -1.5% |
| Construction | 739,800 | 736,500 | 779,100 | 3,300 | 0.4% |
| Manufacturing | 869,100 | 867,900 | 909,000 | 1,200 | 0.1% |
| Service Providing | 10,423,200 | 10,318,000 | 10,899,600 | 105,200 | 1% |
| Trade, Transportation, and Utilities | 2,438,400 | 2,409,600 | 2,512,800 | 28,800 | 1.2% |
| Information | 195,900 | 194,900 | 209,000 | 1,000 | 0.5% |
| Financial Activities | 809,700 | 805,200 | 806,100 | 4,500 | 0.6% |
| Professional and Business Services | 1,778,500 | 1,745,300 | 1,801,500 | 33,200 | 1.9% |
| Education and Health Services | 1,675,100 | 1,678,000 | 1,745,300 | -2,900 | -0.2% |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 1,147,500 | 1,146,200 | 1,395,100 | 1,300 | 0.1% |
| Other Services | 423,600 | 409,300 | 446,700 | 14,300 | 3.5% |
| Government | 1,954,500 | 1,929,500 | 1,983,100 | 25,000 | 1.3% |
