Unemployment
Hopkins drops to third in workforce area for joblessness
Unemployment across the state decreased slightly last month, as did the jobless rate in five of the nine counties in Northeast Texas Workforce Development Area. Unemployment rose in two counties and was unchanged in two counties. In fact, December marked the third consecutive month the unemployment rate in Hopkins County was unchanged at 3.9%, according to the latest Labor Market Information released by Texas Workforce Commission.
Across Texas, the labor force grew from 14,704,057 in November 2022 to 14,720,000 in December 2022, both up from December of 2021, when 14,369,567 Texas were either employed or looking for work. While the number of employed Texans rose from 14,160,174 in November 2022 to 14,189,378 in December of last year, increases Texas were either employed or looking for work. While the number of employed Texans rose from 14,160,174 in November 2022 to 14,189,378 in December of last year, increases over the 13,761,548 employed in December 2021. That left 530,622 Texans without jobs in December 2022, compared to 543,883 unemployed in November 2022 and 608,019 in December of 2021. That dropped the overall unemployment rate from 4.2% in December of 2021 to 3.7% 11 months later and 3.6% last month.
The Northeast Texas Workforce Development Area, which encompasses 9 counties spanning from Bowie to Hopkins and Red River counties, didn’t fare as well as the state as a whole during the month of December 2022.
Across the nine-county Northeast Texas Workforce Development area, the unemployment rate dipped from 4.5% in December 2021 to 4.1% in December 2022, which was 0.1% less than the month before. The number of employed increased from 119,446 in November 2022 to 199,662 to December 2022, up from 118,949.
The number of unemployed in NETWDA has continued to decline from 5,571 in December 2021 to 5,134 last month, down from 5,237 the month before.
Franklin County was the only county in the NETWDA with a December 2022 unemployment rate below the state average. Franklin County’s unemployment rate has continued to drop, from 3.4% in December 2021 to 3.5% in November 2022 and 3.1% in December 2022. The overall labor force declined by two Franklin County residents, from November to December 2022, but was still three more than in December 2021. The number of unemployed in Franklin County actually rose from 172 in December 2021 to 177 last November then dipped to 160 in December 2022. That’s 17 more people working last month than the month before in Franklin County.
Bowie, Hopkins and Titus were the only other counties boasting unemployment rates below the overall NETWDA average of 4.1%. The unemployment rate in Hopkins County was 3.9%, just over the state average but still below the 4.1% posted by NETWDA in December 2022. The county’s jobless rate has remained steady at 3.9% for the past three months, but is still the highest rate in 2022. That’s still 0.6% higher than in December of 2021, In fact, that’s the highest unemployment rate since October of 2021, when the post COVID unemployment rate in the recovering economy was 3.9%.The unemployment rate had dipped from 3.8 in January 2022, then in April fell almost matching the pre-pandemic low of 2.7% recorded in April and May of 2019. The jobless rate then began rising again to 3.1% in May and September, then 3.3% in July and August and has remained at 3.9% since October of 2022.
Although the unemployment rate has remained unchanged for 3 months, that doesn’t mean there has been no change in the workforce. The labor force, the number of people both working and seeking work, rose from 17,848 in December of 2021 to 18,279 in November 2022, in December 2022 Hopkins County lost 25 workers in the labor force. So, while the labor force had 406 fewer Hopkins County residents in 2021 than in 2022, so too were the number of people unemployed. Last month, 721 people in Hopkins County were unemployed, three more than the month before and 138 more than one year before, according to the TLMI report.
Titus County had a December 2022 unemployment rate of 3.7%, the second lowest in the WDA. That’s down from 4.2% in December 2021, with 568 out of the overall workforce of 13,565 without jobs. Titus County had 13,083 of the total 13,646 labor force who were unemployed in November 2022, giving the county a 4.1% unemployment rate. In December 2022, a total of 511 out of the total labor force of 13,638 were unemployed in December 2022.
In Bowie County, 37,817 were employed last month compared to 37,653 in November 2022 and 37,499 employed in December of 2021. The number of unemployed has dwindled from 1,848 in December of 2021 to 1,625 in November 2022 and 1,568 in December 2022. As a result, the unemployment rate in Bowie County has continued to decline from 4.7% in December 2021 to 4.1% in November and 4% in December 2022.
Unemployment in Case County dipped from 4.4% in November 2022 to 4.3% last month. Overall, 21 fewer people were jobless in December than the 536 reported in November of 2022, while the number working rose from 11,546 to 11,568 last month. Year-over-year, unemployment declined 0.8% from December of 2021, when 619 were jobless and 11,580 employed, to December 2022, when 515 were unemployed and 11,568 working.
The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.4% in Red River County during both November and December 2022, both of which were down from 5% in December of 2021. As was the case in Hopkins County, that didn’t necessarily mean there were not changes in employment statistics. While the number of unemployed Red River residents remained 235 in both November and December (31 less than in December of 2021), a total of 5,081 has jobs last month, which was 32 more than the month before and 71 more than in December of 2021. While Morris County continued to have the highest unemployment rate in NETWDA last month, joblessness did drop slightly from 6.4% in November 2022, when 283 out of a labor force of 4,396 were without jobs, to 6.2% in December, with 268 out of the total labor force of 4,353 jobless at years end. That’s a 1.7% decline in unemployment from December 2021, when the labor force was 4,530 strong, including 358 who were jobless.
Lamar County’s unemployment rate rose slightly from 4.2% in November 2022 to 4.3% in December 2022, but still just below the December 2021 unemployment rate of 4.4%. While the number of employed individuals declined by only four residents last month, a total of 45 additional people were jobless in December, compared to November of last year. In December of 2021, 1,063 Lamar County residents were unemployed, 13 more than in December of 2022, the number of employed in December of both years, however, was 23,150.
Finally, Delta County’s unemployment rate spiked the most, from 3.9% in both December of 2021 and November of 2022, to 4.3% last month. In December of 2021, only 94 out of the 2,427 labor force were unemployed. The following November, 95 Delta County residents were jobless out of a potential labor force of 2,438. Last month, only 2,343 were working, leaving 106 in Delta County jobless.