August 16, 2024
Beacon Employment Report | Texas
Presented by Beacon Economics
Copyright © Beacon Economics LLC
ANOTHER MONTH OF JOB LOSSES IN TEXAS
STATE’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES TO HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE EARLY 2023
14,500
Jobs Lost
Hiring activity in Texas continued to sputter in the latest numbers as the state experienced a second consecutive month of job losses. New figures from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) reveal that Texas employers collectively lost 14,500 nonfarm payrolls during July while June’s losses were revised from a loss of -1,200 to a loss of -9,100 payroll positions.
Nonfarm employment in the state is still up 1.9% from one year ago; this compares to a 1.6% gain at the national level. And although payrolls were flat, all of Texas’s industries except Mining and Logging and Management have more jobs compared to last July.
1.9%
Annual Employment Growth
Notably, Hurricane Beryl hit Texas during the period in which the establishment survey (the basis of the monthly job numbers) was taken, but the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said the response rate in Texas was largely unaffected, according to Justin Niakamal, Manager of Regional Research at Beacon Economics. “Most of the job losses in July came from Administrative and Supportive Services, which tends to be one of the more volatile industries, even at the national level,” said Niakamal. “While July was a weak month from an employment standpoint, there is still plenty of reason for optimism about Texas’s future job growth.”
4.1%
Unemployment Rate
The state’s unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 percentage points to 4.1%, the highest it’s been since January 2023, but still lower than the nation’s rate, which increased 0.2 percentage points to 4.3%. And despite the weak job growth, Texas’s labor force continued to expand to record levels. The Lone Star state saw a month-over-month increase of 0.3% in its labor force, an expansion of nearly 42,000, the second-largest jump since March 2023. At the national level the labor force increased 0.2% month-over-month, surpassing the all-time-high set in November 2023. Over the last twelve months Texas’s labor force has increased by 1.6%, compared to 0.8% nationally.
The Beacon Employment Report | Texas is a unique analysis of Texas’ employment numbers and trends. Each month, we link our own econometric predictions to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Labor Market Information Division of the Texas Workforce Commission to identify important changes in employment across industries and regions. The Beacon Employment Report is also one of the few analyses that uses seasonally adjusted numbers, which are critical to revealing accurate trends and insights within data. The analysis is a sample of the kind of research available from Beacon Economics.
The contents of this report are based on information derived from carefully selected sources Beacon Economics believe are reasonable. We do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness and nothing presented here shall be construed to be a representation of such a guarantee.
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