After somewhat lukewarm April job numbers, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) announced much stronger May job growth for Texas. Whereas the Texas economy added only 13,000 jobs in April, businesses added a robust 34,400 new employees in May. These new jobs decreased the state’s unemployment rate to 6.5%.
Once again, Amarillo, Austin, and College Station-Bryan had the lowest unemployment rates in the state at 3.9%, 4.2%, and 4.5%, respectively. With rates of 9.7%, 9.6%, 9.1%, respectively, McAllen, Beaumont, and Odessa have the highest unemployment rates in Texas.
The Service Industry and Leisure and Hospitality added the most jobs, while Construction and Government Employment shows the biggest declines. Texas has yet to recover roughly 200,000 jobs that existed before the Covid-19 pandemic started.