South Texas saw a decrease in March’s Unemployment Rate

Workforce Solutions for South Texas June 11, 2021

LAREDO ⎯  April 2021 — Workforce Solutions for South Texas (WSST) reported a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 8.2 percent in March 2021 for the three-county South Texas Workforce Development area. This represents a decrease of 0.6 percent in comparison to February 2021.
The City of Laredo MSA’s unemployment rate decreased to 7.9 percent in March down from 8.5 percent in February. The State’s rate remained at 6.9 percent, slightly over the national unemployment rate of 6.2 percent, according to a report by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).
“The decline in unemployment for both Laredo and the three-county workforce development area is great news and it indicates that our area employers are committed to continued growth and bringing in new hires as our economy steadily grows,” said Rogelio Treviño, Executive Director at Workforce Solutions for South Texas.
The South Texas area, serving Jim Hogg, Webb, and Zapata counties, reported a Civilian Labor Force of 122,284, with almost 10,023 receiving the unemployment insurance benefits. This means that 112,261 people are still employed in our three-county area.
Essential Jobs reported an increase in the employment by industry, such as the Professional and Business Services (8.7%), Leisure and Hospitality (7.2%), Other Services (4.9%), Information (4.1%), Trade, Transportation and Utilities (3.8%), and Public Administration (2.0%).
Industries reporting losses were the following: Natural Resources and Mining, Construction, Manufacturing, Financial Activities, and Education and Health Services.
“It’s very promising to see the growth and increases in employment by Industry primarily in the Leisure and Hospitality industry that was one of the hardest hits by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Treviño said. “The Laredo MSA continues to show an overall positive growth and our workforce board is committed to working with our local’s education and training agencies to prepare our labor force to meet the needs of our employers as they open up again.”
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.

Service Representatives
If employers need assistance creating a job posting, they can reach out to the Business Service Representatives by dialing 956-794-6500 for the center in Laredo, 956-765-1804 for the satellite office in Zapata; or, 361-231-7071 for the satellite office in Hebbronville; if Job Seekers need assistance creating their profile and applying for a job, they can reach out a Customer Service Representative through our chat by visiting https://bit.ly/chatsouthtexas.
The Texas Labor Market & Career Information Data for March is scheduled to be released on Friday, May 21, 2021.