COLLEGE STATION – Initial jobless claims in Texas increased for the third straight week to 82,800 the week ending March 27.
“The rise in unemployment claims is surprising, since other economic indicators are improving substantially as vaccination rates increase, and new COVID-19 cases continue to decline,” said Dr. Luis Torres, research economist for the Texas Real Estate Research Center.
About 4.8 million unemployment claims have been filed since March 21, 2020, according to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) data.
Continuing unemployment claims increased to 328,000 the week ending March 20.
“For the labor market to fully recover going forward, significant downward movement in initial and continuing claims needs to happen, given that claims levels remain high,” said Torres.
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, decreased the week ending March 27.
Last week, U.S. initial claims increased to 719,500, bringing the 54-week total to 78.3 million.
For the second week in a row, more people in Texas’ major and border metros filed new unemployment claims the week ending March 20.
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, 2020:
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Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, 1.1 million claims;
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Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 1.06 million claims;
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San Antonio-New Braunfels, 324,200 claims;
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Austin-Round Rock, 272,600 claims;
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McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, 131,300 claims;
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El Paso, 112,800 claims;
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Brownsville-Harlingen, 57,900 claims; and
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Laredo, 32,700 claims.
“Increasing vaccination rates should lead to a faster recovery in the leisure and hospitality sector, possibly creating a wave of hiring that would allow thousands of laid-off workers to find jobs,” said Torres.
Healthcare and social assistance registered the highest number of initial claims the week ending March 20. That sector was followed by educational services, retail trade, and administrative/support/waste management/remediation services.
The Texas Real Estate Research Center has a wealth of economic information online for free.