A worker prepares to lift drills by pulley to the main floor of a rig in the Permian basin outside of Midland in this file photo.Brittany Sowacke/Photographer: Brittany Sowacke/BMidland and Odessa continued to enjoy strong labor markets at the mid-point of 2023.The Texas Workforce Commission said Friday its Midland metropolitan statistical area (MSA) – which includes Midland and Martin counties – had an unemployment rate of 2.6% in June, unchanged from May but down from 3.2% last June.Midland UnemploymentJanuary 2023 2.7%January 2022 3.9%
February 2023 3.0%February 2022 3.6%
March 2023 2.6%March 2022 3.1%
April 2023 2.3%April 2022 2.8%
May 2023 2.6%May 2022 2.8%
June 2023 2.6%June 2022 3.2%
Preliminary numbers for June with May numbers in parentheses: Midland 2.6 (2.6)Amarillo 3.3 (3.2)Odessa 3.4 (3.4)Austin-Round Rock 3.5 (3.5)College Station-Bryan 3.6 (3.2)Lubbock 3.7 (3.4)Abilene 3.8 (3.5)Fort Worth-Arlington 3.8 (3.8)Tyler 3.8 (3.8)Dallas-Plano-Irving 3.9 (3.8)San Antonio-New Braunfels 3.9 (3.8)Sherman-Denison 4.0 (3.9)Texarkana 4.0 (3.8)Waco 4.0 (3.7)San Angelo 4.1 (3.6)Wichita Falls 4.1 (3.9)Victoria 4.3 (4.1)El Paso 4.5 (4.5)Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land 4.5 (4.4)Laredo 4.5 (4.3)Longview 4.5 (4.3)Corpus Christi 4.6 (4.5)Killeen-Temple 4.6 (4.6)Brownsville-Harlingen 5.9 (5.7)Beaumont-Port Arthur 6.4 (6.3)McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 6.7 (6.2)
AdvertisementArticle continues below this adOdessa jumped to third place, just ahead of Austin-Round Rock and College Station-Bryan at 3.4%, unchanged from May but down from 4.2% the previous June.“This is probably the strongest market in Texas,” observed Willie Taylor, chief executive officer of the commission’s Workforce Solutions Permian Basin, which oversees 17 West Texas counties.Speaking with the Reporter-Telegram by telephone, Taylor noted that the labor market is strong all over, making it difficult to recruit talented workers. And, he pointed out, a tight labor market supports higher wages. Wages in Midland’s Mining, Logging and Construction sector totaled a little more than $1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by Trade, Transportation and Utilities at $429.4 million.“One of the things we’re seeing is a little bit of a slowdown in training,” Taylor said. Training in truck driving, linemen and medical services remain strong, he said. But other areas are seeing a slowdown because strong wages are encouraging people to take jobs and put off training, he explained.AdvertisementArticle continues below this adThose wages and available jobs are also driving an influx of job seekers, he said. “I was shocked, driving down Interstate 20, at the number of man camps,” he said. Midland’s already record-high civilian labor force grew by about 1,000 from May to June – 114,685 from 113,615 – and is up by 6,400 from June 2022, numbers Taylor said are reminiscent of those seen in 2019 when Midland’s unemployment rate fell as low as 1.7%.While Midland’s civilian labor force grew, the number of employed Midlanders grew a similar amount, rising by about 1,000 from 110,638 in May to 111,714 in June – 6,860 more than the 104,852 employed last year. The number of unemployed held steady at 2,971, down from 2,977 in May and 459 fewer than the 3,430 reported a year ago. Midland added 800 jobs during the month, for a total nonfarm job count of 120,700. The dominant Mining, Logging and Construction sector, which comprises 34.2% of jobs, added 800 jobs, followed by the Leisure and Hospitality sector with 200 new jobs. The Manufacturing sector added 100 jobs. The Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector, Private Education and Health Services sector and Government sector each lost 100 jobs during the month.AdvertisementArticle continues below this adFor the 12 months from June 2022 to June 2023, Midland added 9,200 jobs for a growth rate of 8.3%. The Mining, Logging and Construction sector led with the creation of 5,500 new jobs. Trade, Transportation and Utilities added 700 jobs. The Manufacturing and the Professional and Business Services sectors each added 600 jobs. Leisure and Hospitality added 500 jobs. The Financial Activities sector and Private Education and Heath Services sector each added 400 jobs. The Other Services sector added 300 jobs. The Government sector was the only industrial sector to be unchanged over the year.Statewide, the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. The state broke three records for number of jobs, number of employed and size of the state’s civilian labor force. Total nonfarm employment increased by 31,100 over the month to reach a 21st consecutive series-high level at 13.944 million jobs and achieved 28 consecutive months of growth. Since June 2022, Texas employment has grown by 542,500 jobs, the largest annual increase in the nation. The employment growth rate of 4% outpaced every other state and the national average of 2.5%. The civilian labor force grew by 30,500 to reach 15.039 million and the number of employed hit a record high of 14.42 million.While Midland reported the state’s lowest unemployment, the highest was in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission at 6.7%.
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