October 16, 2020
Media contact: Cisco Gamez
Phone: 512-463-8556
Texas Adds 40,700 Nonfarm Positions Over the Month
The Texas unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent in September, after dipping from the high of 13.5 percent in April 2020 when the peak of COVID-19 impacts occurred. The increase was due to the civilian labor force shrinking as the number of individuals actively looking for work contracted, while the unemployed rose.
Texas employers added 40,700 jobs despite the increase in individuals exiting the labor force which also includes the self-employed. This marks the fifth consecutive month of job growth since measures taken to control the spread of corona virus began. The monthly job increase exceeded September 2019, when 12,800 jobs were added.
"Despite the increase in the overall unemployment rate, Texas had a net gain in jobs for September,” said TWC Chairman Bryan Daniel. “TWC continues to implement tools to spur additional job growth as a critical part of our efforts to grow the state’s economy."
In September, the Leisure and Hospitality sector added 23,600 jobs, Government added 5,400 jobs and Professional and Business Services added 4,000 jobs.
"TWC offers numerous resources to Texans looking for work or building their careers,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Julian Alvarez. “Local Workforce Solutions offices around the state can help job seekers with resumes, job preparation and determining their career path."
The Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) recorded September’s lowest unemployment rate among Texas MSAs with a not seasonally adjusted rate of 5.1 percent, followed by the College Station-Bryan MSA with the second lowest rate of 5.5 percent. The Abilene MSAs recorded the third lowest rate of 5.9 percent.
"TWC is committed to engaging with all Texas employers across the state to create and expand opportunities for all,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Aaron Demerson. “Through my office, we remain dedicated to being the number one employment law resource for our Texas employers."
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. To access this and more employment data, visit TexasLMI.com.
The Texas Labor Market & Career Information Data for October is scheduled to be released on Friday, November 20, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. (CST).
| September 2020 | August 2020 | September 2019 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.L.F. | Emp. | Unemp. | Rate | C.L.F. | Emp. | Unemp. | Rate | C.L.F. | Emp. | Unemp. | Rate | |
| United States | 160,073.0 | 147,796.0 | 12,277.0 | 7.7 | 160,966.0 | 147,224.0 | 13,742.0 | 8.5 | 163,943.0 | 158,478.0 | 5,465.0 | 3.3 |
| Texas | 14,208.4 | 13,030.8 | 1,177.6 | 8.3 | 14,330.4 | 13,330.1 | 1,000.3 | 7.0 | 14,111.3 | 13,628.5 | 482.8 | 3.4 |
| Abilene | 79.6 | 74.9 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 80.0 | 76.1 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 79.7 | 77.4 | 2.3 | 2.9 |
| Amarillo | 129.1 | 122.5 | 6.6 | 5.1 | 129.6 | 124.0 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 132.4 | 129.1 | 3.3 | 2.5 |
| Austin-Round Rock | 1,260.5 | 1,179.7 | 80.8 | 6.4 | 1,276.9 | 1,206.4 | 70.4 | 5.5 | 1,244.5 | 1,211.6 | 32.9 | 2.6 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur | 173.2 | 151.5 | 21.7 | 12.5 | 172.2 | 154.4 | 17.8 | 10.3 | 174.2 | 164.7 | 9.5 | 5.4 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen | 166.7 | 148.2 | 18.5 | 11.1 | 170.0 | 154.1 | 15.9 | 9.3 | 167.1 | 158.4 | 8.7 | 5.2 |
| College Station-Bryan | 139.8 | 132.1 | 7.7 | 5.5 | 137.9 | 131.5 | 6.5 | 4.7 | 136.8 | 133.1 | 3.7 | 2.7 |
| Corpus Christi | 203.9 | 183.3 | 20.6 | 10.1 | 207.5 | 190.1 | 17.4 | 8.4 | 206.0 | 197.4 | 8.6 | 4.2 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 4,043.0 | 3,741.3 | 301.6 | 7.5 | 4,086.6 | 3,828.4 | 258.2 | 6.3 | 4,003.2 | 3,876.6 | 126.6 | 3.2 |
| Dallas-Plano-Irving MD | 2,738.4 | 2,536.1 | 202.2 | 7.4 | 2,768.3 | 2,595.5 | 172.8 | 6.2 | 2,698.5 | 2,613.1 | 85.4 | 3.2 |
| Fort Worth-Arlington MD | 1,304.6 | 1,205.2 | 99.4 | 7.6 | 1,318.3 | 1,232.9 | 85.4 | 6.5 | 1,304.7 | 1,263.5 | 41.2 | 3.2 |
| El Paso | 368.3 | 336.5 | 31.9 | 8.7 | 372.0 | 344.9 | 27.1 | 7.3 | 367.0 | 353.3 | 13.7 | 3.7 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land | 3,482.2 | 3,146.6 | 335.5 | 9.6 | 3,490.7 | 3,206.5 | 284.2 | 8.1 | 3,440.5 | 3,312.7 | 127.8 | 3.7 |
| Killeen-Temple | 178.6 | 165.5 | 13.2 | 7.4 | 180.1 | 169.1 | 10.9 | 6.1 | 177.8 | 171.3 | 6.5 | 3.7 |
| Laredo | 118.3 | 107.2 | 11.1 | 9.4 | 119.2 | 109.8 | 9.4 | 7.9 | 118.8 | 114.7 | 4.1 | 3.4 |
| Longview | 97.5 | 88.7 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 98.7 | 91.5 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 99.8 | 96.2 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| Lubbock | 163.2 | 153.2 | 10.0 | 6.1 | 164.9 | 156.3 | 8.5 | 5.2 | 163.8 | 159.3 | 4.5 | 2.7 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | 360.6 | 314.3 | 46.3 | 12.8 | 362.1 | 322.8 | 39.3 | 10.9 | 352.6 | 331.5 | 21.1 | 6.0 |
| Midland | 105.1 | 95.0 | 10.1 | 9.6 | 106.4 | 97.8 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 110.7 | 108.4 | 2.3 | 2.1 |
| Odessa | 88.0 | 76.3 | 11.6 | 13.2 | 87.8 | 78.0 | 9.7 | 11.1 | 88.2 | 85.8 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
| San Angelo | 53.8 | 50.0 | 3.8 | 7.1 | 54.0 | 50.8 | 3.2 | 5.9 | 55.4 | 53.8 | 1.6 | 2.9 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | 1,219.0 | 1,124.4 | 94.6 | 7.8 | 1,235.0 | 1,153.7 | 81.4 | 6.6 | 1,211.0 | 1,174.2 | 36.8 | 3.0 |
| Sherman-Denison | 65.1 | 61.2 | 4.0 | 6.1 | 66.1 | 62.7 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 64.2 | 62.2 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| Texarkana | 65.8 | 61.0 | 4.8 | 7.3 | 65.9 | 61.5 | 4.4 | 6.7 | 65.3 | 62.6 | 2.7 | 4.1 |
| Tyler | 108.7 | 100.8 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 110.4 | 103.8 | 6.6 | 6.0 | 107.2 | 103.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| Victoria | 46.1 | 42.0 | 4.1 | 8.8 | 46.1 | 42.6 | 3.4 | 7.5 | 46.0 | 44.5 | 1.5 | 3.3 |
| Waco | 130.2 | 121.9 | 8.3 | 6.4 | 131.9 | 124.9 | 7.1 | 5.4 | 126.8 | 122.7 | 4.1 | 3.2 |
| Wichita Falls | 65.2 | 60.5 | 4.6 | 7.1 | 65.9 | 62.1 | 3.9 | 5.8 | 65.5 | 63.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| INDUSTRY TITLE | Sep 2020* | Aug 2020 | Sep 2019 | Aug '20 to Sep '20 | Sep '19 to Sep '20 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Change | Percent Change | Absolute Change | Percent Change | ||||
| Total Nonagricultural | 12,265,200 | 12,224,500 | 12,848,800 | 40,700 | 0.3 | -583,600 | -4.5 |
| Total Private | 10,299,900 | 10,264,600 | 10,866,500 | 35,300 | 0.3 | -566,600 | -5.2 |
| Goods Producing | 1,806,300 | 1,798,600 | 1,938,700 | 7,700 | 0.4 | -132,400 | -6.8 |
| Mining and Logging | 190,300 | 189,000 | 245,800 | 1,300 | 0.7 | -55,500 | -22.6 |
| Construction | 745,200 | 741,500 | 783,500 | 3,700 | 0.5 | -38,300 | -4.9 |
| Manufacturing | 870,800 | 868,100 | 909,400 | 2,700 | 0.3 | -38,600 | -4.2 |
| Service Providing | 10,458,900 | 10,425,900 | 10,910,100 | 33,000 | 0.3 | -451,200 | -4.1 |
| Trade, Transportation, and Utilities | 2,438,600 | 2,439,700 | 2,514,500 | -1,100 | 0 | -75,900 | -3 |
| Information | 198,000 | 195,300 | 209,200 | 2,700 | 1.4 | -11,200 | -5.4 |
| Financial Activities | 805,400 | 807,500 | 808,000 | -2,100 | -0.3 | -2,600 | -0.3 |
| Professional and Business Services | 1,780,500 | 1,776,500 | 1,804,100 | 4,000 | 0.2 | -23,600 | -1.3 |
| Education and Health Services | 1,678,900 | 1,676,400 | 1,746,700 | 2,500 | 0.1 | -67,800 | -3.9 |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 1,171,900 | 1,148,300 | 1,396,900 | 23,600 | 2.1 | -225,000 | -16.1 |
| Other Services | 420,300 | 422,300 | 448,400 | -2,000 | -0.5 | -28,100 | -6.3 |
| Government | 1,965,300 | 1,959,900 | 1,982,300 | 5,400 | 0.3 | -17,000 | -0.9 |
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The Texas Workforce Commission is a state agency dedicated to helping Texas employers, workers and communities prosper economically. For details on TWC and the services it offers in coordination with its network of local workforce development boards, call 512-463-8942 or visit www.texasworkforce.org. To receive notifications about TWC programs and services subscribe to our email updates.
