COLLEGE STATION – Initial unemployment insurance claims in Texas decreased for the second straight week to 47,300 the week ending Jan. 23.
This brings the total since March 21 to 4.27 million, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
“Although initial claims fell for a second straight week, they still remain elevated at around three times pre-pandemic levels, underscoring the fragility of the labor market,” said Texas Real Estate Research Center Research Economist Dr. Luis Torres.
Continuing unemployment claims decreased to 334,500 the week ending Jan. 16.
The number of workers receiving benefits through the pandemic unemployment assistance program, which is open to gig workers and others who don’t typically receive benefits, fell the week ending Jan. 23.
Last week, U.S. initial claims decreased to 846,600 the week ending Jan. 9, bringing the 45-week total to 76.5 million.
“The pandemic continues to be the underlining force moving the labor market, but the start of a recent downward trend in the number of new COVID-19 cases is an encouraging sign,” said Torres. “Full recovery depends on health outcomes like an increase in vaccination rates and successfully containing the spread of the virus.”
More people in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Antonio filed new unemployment claims the week ending Jan. 16. The last time these metros registered such high numbers of unemployment claims was at the start of September 2020.
In contrast, fewer people filed new claims in Houston and in Texas’ border metros.
Using data from the DOL and the Employment and Training Administration, the Center has estimated unemployment claims for Texas’ major and border metros since March 21:
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Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, 980,300 claims;
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Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 935,200 claims;
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San Antonio-New Braunfels, 290,500 claims;
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Austin-Round Rock, 244,000 claims;
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McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, 118,300 claims;
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El Paso, 102,600 claims;
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Brownsville-Harlingen, 52,000 claims; and
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Laredo, 29,700 claims.
The Texas Real Estate Research Center has a wealth of economic information online for free.