McAllen News and Notes

While Hidalgo County employers added 1,500 jobs during March, Cameron County shed 1,300 jobs and experienced Texas’ worst unemployment.

Texas Workforce Commission data (PDF) released Friday shows the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area, which covers Cameron County, edged out the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area, which covers Hidalgo County, to claim the unfortunate title.

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission’s unemployment rate was 11.9 percent, just one-tenth of one percent lower than Brownsville-Harlingen’s 12 percent unemployment rate. The story behind the numbers, though, shows a much greater contrast between the Rio Grande Valley’s most populous metro areas.

In Hidalgo County, an additional 1,300 people began looking for work during March, according to Workforce Commission data. At the same time, employers hired 2,000 additional county residents.

As a result, the unemployment rate dropped from 12.2 percent to 11.9 percent.

The largest gains came from utility companies, retailers, wholesalers and the transportation industry, which added 500 jobs. All other sectors either added jobs or maintained current employment.

In Cameron County, about 1,900 residents lost their jobs during March. Another 2,200 people stopped looking for work or left the county, keeping the unemployment rate at 12 percent.

If those people hadn’t left the labor force, Cameron County’s unemployment rate would have shot up to 13 percent, the worst since at least 2001.

Education and health services shed 700 jobs, according to Workforce Commission data. Utility companies, retailers, wholesalers and the transportation industry eliminated another 400 jobs.

Government remained a bright spot for Cameron County, adding 200 jobs.

Statewide, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent during March, well below the U.S. average of 8.8 percent, according to Workforce Commission data.

The Valley’s two metro areas, especially McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, have long had the state’s highest unemployment, driven by high birth rates and an ever-growing labor force. Strong job growth, among the best nationwide, has been offset by an even faster growing population.

The number of jobs created and number of people employed don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. For example, a large number of Cameron County residents might work in Hidalgo County. That might boost the number of Cameron County residents with jobs above the number of jobs available in Cameron County.

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