Workforce Solutions for the Heart of Texas’ Post

The Heart of Texas six-county regional unemployment rate edged down to 3.6% for October 2023, a decrease of .2% from September 2023. The 3.6% unemployment rate was comprised of 6,447 residents and 876 continued unemployment claims. Job growth for the Waco metropolitan area increased by 400 jobs in October, while the region’s average weekly wages for the second quarter of 2023 experienced a modest decline to $1,049, TWC’s https://bit.ly/3xvuuBi reports. Read more at https://bit.ly/3QLq7u8.

Look at these numbers for Texas! Unemployment Rate: 4.1% Total Non-Farm Employment: 13,969,100 Jobs Change Over the Year: 441,700 Annual Growth Rate: 3.3% The numbers don't lie that Texas is the best state to be doing business in. “Following a net increase of 26,300 jobs in July, all but 400 of those jobs were in the private sector, illustrating that the Lone Star State continues to be the most attractive state for business,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Aaron Demerson. Well done, Lone Star State! Read More: https://lnkd.in/gReKi6-u Ed Curtis, Michelle Pearson, Texas Workforce Commission #Texas #YTXSummit23 #TexasBusiness #CEO #TexasRelocation #Business

Here’s a rundown of the January’s preliminary unemployment and jobs report. The unemployment rate in Massachusetts remained below the national average for the 10th consecutive month and the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) remains steady over the month. 

The Southeast Texas unemployment rate for January increased to 5.9 percent, up 0.7 percent from December’s rate of 5.2 percent. *These numbers are subject to change as more data becomes available* Southeast Texas has been feeling the result of plant and local employer closures. These closures have significantly impacted a large volume of workers and the entire Southeast Texas community. Despite the recent closures and challenges that have come with it, Southeast Texas intends to recover through several large projects that are currently ongoing and promise to produce a stronger workforce and economy. Read full press release here: https://lnkd.in/gBuWmk6W

The South Texas unemployment rate in November 2023 was 3.6%. It went down 0.2% from October 2023. At the same time, the Unemployment rate in the Laredo MSA was 3.5%. The Texas Workforce Commission provided these data. Check the complete list here: https://lnkd.in/gkHwfT9W #msa #southtexas #unemploymentrate #LMI

The labor market in Virginia continues to remain strong. In April 2024, the unemployment rate in Virginia was 2.8%, down from last month. Virginia’s unemployment rate was significantly lower than that for the United States at 3.9%. Employment levels increased to 4.2 million, up 1.8% from this time last year. bit.ly/4bNxn1t #VirginiaREALTORS

Florida's October unemployment rates released in November held steady at 2.8%. Nine of ten major industries experienced positive YOY job growth. The industry losing jobs YOY was IT (-2.6%). US Unemployment was 3.6%. Miami-Dade County had the lowest unemployment with 1.6%. Hendry County had the highest at 5.1%. Tampa Bay MSA came in at 3.2%, Orlando MSA at 3.1% and Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA registered 3.9%

Tennessee’s unemployment rate remains at 3.5%, which is below the national average of 3.9%. Moore County has the lowest rate at 2.1%. Bledsoe County is highest at 4.8%. Find out what the unemployment rate is in your locality in TN at the link.

November metro area unemployment came out. Asheville at 2.8% is the lowest in NC, down from 3% a year ago. Every metro area in NC showed a year-over-year decline in the jobless rate in Nov. Rocky Mount had the biggest drop, from 5.3 to 4.6% Metro area unemployment NC in Nov. Asheville 2.8 Burlington 3.3 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 3.2 Durham-Chapel Hill 3.0 Fayetteville 4.6 Goldsboro 3.7 Greensboro-High Point 3.7 Greenville 3.8 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 3.3 Jacksonville 4.0 New Bern 3.3 Raleigh 3.0 Rocky Mount 4.6 Wilmington 3.2 Winston-Salem 3.2 There are, officially, 177,284 people unemployed in North Carolina, meaning they are out of work and are actually seeking a job. In November 2022, that number was 184,461. If you are not working but not looking for work, you are not counted as unemployed. One way to think about this is that the civilian labor force in the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area - Wake, Franklin, Johnston counties - is 807,388 people. Out of that, 24,314 folks were out of work in November but were looking for a job. Probably some more actively than others, but when they were asked, they said they were looking. Now, there are nearly 37,000 business establishments in the Raleigh-Cary metro area, big and small. So if all of those businesses are just trying to add 1 employee each, that is more than the number of unemployed people in the metro region. Now some of those 37,000 businesses are tiny and probably aren't adding even one worker, but some of those businesses are big and may be looking to hire 10. It all averages out. My point is that 24,314 unemployed people will not be unemployed long if they are willing to take what's available. This is why the moving vans are coming here from other regions, and Wake County is growing by around 60 folks a day. https://lnkd.in/gCax4fZs

Question for discussion... What can those of us currently on unemployment in our various states do about the inevitability of it ending after 26 weeks? Mine is supposed to stop in October and I'm starting to panic a bit. Colorado says no extensions on unemployment past 26 weeks unless the unemployment rate is higher than 5%. Today it's 2.8%. The US rate is 3.5%. Obviously, there is a high number of folks unemployed based solely on what we're seeing on LinkedIn. Where do the numbers for unemployment rate come from? Should there be a tier system to distinguish between unemployed professionals and skilled / unskilled workers? I feel like 3.5% unemployment in the US isn't a clear view of what's REALLY going on. Thoughts?...