Voting Resources
Texas Unemployment Update for September
For September, unemployment in Texas rose from 8 percent in August to a 26-year high of 8.2 percent. With the exceptions of Waco and Odessa, the majority of the state’s major cities experienced increases in unemployment. On an encouraging note, unemployment levels in the largest metropolitan areas remained the same or increased only slightly.
For the week ending Oct. 10, initial claims for unemployment insurance rose again to 22,480 – the highest number of those making first-time claims since June 13. Continued claims for the week decreased nearly 15,000 from the previous week to 241,210. However, the figure still dwarfs the 135,165 from a year ago, signaling businesses’ continued reluctance to hire.
Here is the link to the September Texas unemployment numbers our office released last Friday.
Unemployment Rates for Texas Cities
| Sept. | Aug. | Change | |
| Abilene | 6.3 | 6.1 | 0.2 |
| Amarillo | 5.8 | 5.6 | 0.2 |
| Austin-Round Rock | 7.2 | 7.2 | 0 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur | 10.8 | 10.7 | 0.1 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen | 10.8 | 10.5 | 0.3 |
| College Station-Bryan | 6.5 | 6.4 | 0.1 |
| Corpus Christi | 8 | 7.8 | 0.2 |
| Dallas-Plano-Irving | 8.3 | 8.2 | 0.1 |
| El Paso | 9.8 | 9.6 | 0.2 |
| Fort Worth-Arlington | 8.3 | 8.3 | 0 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown | 8.5 | 8.4 | 0.1 |
| Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood | 7.3 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Laredo | 9.1 | 9.1 | 0 |
| Longview | 8.3 | 8.3 | 0 |
| Lubbock | 5.7 | 5.7 | 0 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | 11.6 | 11.4 | 0.2 |
| Midland | 6.2 | 6.1 | 0.1 |
| Odessa | 9.2 | 9.3 | -0.1 |
| San Angelo | 7 | 6.7 | 0.3 |
| San Antonio | 7.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Sherman-Denison | 8.7 | 8.5 | 0.2 |
| Texarkana | 6.8 | 6.6 | 0.2 |
| Tyler | 8.3 | 7.8 | 0.5 |
| Victoria | 8.1 | 7.9 | 0.2 |
| Waco | 7.1 | 7.3 | -0.2 |
| Wichita Falls | 7.9 | 7.9 | 0 |
