South Texas saw a decrease in April’s Unemployment Rate

LAREDO ⎯ May 2021 — Workforce Solutions for South Texas (WSST) reported a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 7.3 percent in April 2021 for the three-county South Texas Workforce Development area. This represents a decrease of 0.9 percent in comparison to March 2021.
The City of Laredo MSA’s unemployment rate decreased to 7.0 percent in April down from 7.9 percent in March. The State’s is at 6.3 percent, while the national unemployment rate was reported at 5.7 percent, according to a report by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).
The South Texas area, serving Jim Hogg, Webb, and Zapata counties, reported a Civilian Labor Force of 120,813, with 8,818 unemployed. This means that 111,995 people are employed in the three-county area.
“The continued decrease in unemployment shows that employers are hiring as our area recovers from the impact of the pandemic. The three-county workforce development area had a decrease in the number of unemployed individuals in March there were 10, 005 unemployed and in April there were 8,818 equaling 1,187 fewer unemployed individuals in one month also a good sign indicating a recovering economy,” said Rogelio Trevino, Executive Director at Workforce Solutions for South Texas.
Essential Jobs reported an increase in the employment by industry, such as the Natural Resources and Mining, Professional and Business Services, and Leisure and Hospitality (4.1%); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (3.2%); Other Services (2.5%); and, Information (1.3%); Manufacturing (1.0%); Education and Health Services (0.8%).
Industries reporting losses were the following: Financial Activities, Public Administration, and Construction.
“It’s very encouraging to see most industries rebounding from the pandemic and showing increases in hiring percentages this month. The industries that did not show growth this month will most likely respond positively as workers return to work and begin to spend more as wages for new hires expand. Workforce Solutions for South Texas is most excited to be able to assist all employers with their hiring needs as the economy continues to open and expand,” said Trevino.
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.

Hiring Events
The One-Stop center in Laredo, located at 1406 Jacaman Road, opened its doors at 40% of capacity, and employers are coming back to conduct In-Person Hiring Events.
A successful recent example was the hiring event conducted by the Laredo Independent School District (LISD) Food Department on Thursday, May 20, 2021.
During that day a total of 80 job seekers visited the center, and at the end of the day, the representatives from LISD reported a total of 55 hires on the spot.
“The recent successes we are having with our in-person hiring events shows that both employers and job seekers are eager to return to work. Our Workforce Center staff are excited and ready to serve our customers as we help the South Texas economy grow and get people back to work.
We strongly encourage employers and job seekers to contact or visit our workforce centers so we can help our businesses and labor force connect,” added Trevino.
The Texas Labor Market & Career Information Data for May is scheduled to be released on Friday, June 18, 2021, at 9:00 a.m.