Hopkins County jobless rate at 19-month high
Hopkins County, like all of Northeast Texas and most of the state, experienced a rise in unemployment from December 2022 to January 2023. However, the January 2023 jobless rates were still lower than those from January 2022 in six of the nine counties in the Northeast Texas Workforce Development Area, according to the latest numbers released earlier this month on the Texas Labor Market Information website for Texas Workforce Commission Labor Market and Career Information division.
US, Texas, WDA
The national unemployment rate rose from 3.3% in December 2022 to 3.9% in January 2023. Both were still lower than the United State’s overall unemployment rate of 4.4% in January of 2022. The civilian labor force across the country has also grown over the past year, rising from 162,825,000 in January of 2022 to 164,224,000 in December 2022 and 165,070 in January of this year. Overall, 155,618,000 in the USA were employed in 2022, a figure which rose to 158,872,000 in December 2022, only to dip to 158,692,000 working in January 2023 Across Texas, 48,600 job positions were added to the Texas economy in January 2023, giving the state 13,782,300 total nonfarm jobs. That’s 654,100 new jobs added in Texas since January of 2022, giving the state an annual job growth rate of 5%, Texas Workforce Commission reported on March 10, when the January 2022 unemployment statistics were reported.
“The Texas economy continues to grow, and Texas has more people working than ever before,” said Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Bryan Daniel. “The growth we’re seeing in the Lone Star State leads the nation, and TWC will continue to support efforts for continued growth.”
“The continued growth in our Texas labor market serves as a testament to the resilience and innovation of our Texas employers,” said Aaron Demerson, TWC Commissioner representing employers. “TWC is here to support employers with workforce training and other initiatives that include internships, apprenticeships, veterans’ assistance and much more as they continue to grow.”
“Texas has its largest civilian labor force ever at over 14.75 million and career opportunities for Texans continue to grow,” said Alberto Treviño III, TWC Commissioner representing labor. “As Texas adds jobs month after month, TWC is here to support any Texan looking for a new job or an opportunity to advance in their career.”
Despite the gains in jobs and labor force, Texas’ overall unemployment rate still rose slightly from 3.5% in December 2022, when 513,172 of the 14,773,939 Texans making up the possible labor state labor force were jobless, to 4.2% in January 2023, when 622,887 of the 14,875,84 Texans in the labor force were jobless. Both months’ unemployment rates remained below the 4.7% rate posted one year before. In January 2022, the labor force was only 14,511,328, including 675,477 who were jobless.
Unemployment across the nine-county Northeast Texas Workforce Development Area rose from 4% to 4.8% from December to March. While 790 people joined the labor force in January, it wasn’t enough to offset the number of Northeast Texans who were jobless this January. An additional 1,003 Northeast Texans were unemployed in January 2023, increasing the total to 6,005. That’s 297 more in NETWDA in January 2023 than in January 2022, but 419 fewer unemployed in January 2023 than the 6,524 reported one year before, when the unemployment rate was 5.2%.
Counties
Franklin County was the only county in the NETWDA that had a lower unemployment rate than the state average and one of four with a January 2023 unemployment rate lower than the WDA average. Franklin County’s January 2023 unemployment rate rose from 3% in December to to 3.7% one month later, matching the January 2022 unemployment rate. Overall, the work pool in Franklin County has fluctuated from 5,123 in January 2022 to 5,259 in December 2022 and 5,372 in January 2023. The number of jobless in Franklin County reached 200 in January 2023, which while only three more than the year before, is 40 more than December 2022. Franklin County’s January 2023 unemployment rate was the lowest in the nine-county WDA.
Bowie, Hopkins and Titus were the only other counties in the WDA that had January 2023 unemployment rates below the 4.8% average for NETWDA. Hopkins and Delta counties were the only two counties whose January 2023 unemployment rates were higher than those posted one year before.
Titus County’s 4.6% unemployment rate was 0.9 higher than one month before, but still 0.5% less than one year before. The workforce in Titus County has continued to increase from 113,498 in January 2022 to 13,729 in December 2022 and 13,867.
Bowie and Hopkins County each had January 2023 unemployment rates of 4.7% The labor force in Bowie County was less in January 2023 than one year before, dipping from 38,727 in January 2022 to 38,445 in December 2022, but had rebounded slightly in January 2023 to 38,656. The unemployment rate in Bowie County had dropped from 5.8% in January 2022 to 4% in December 2022. Overall, the number of jobless in Bowie County dipped from 2,109 in January 2022 to 1,525 in December 2022, but in January 1,824 were jobless in Bowie County.
In Hopkins County, unemployment rose from 3.8% in January 2022, when 699 out of a job pool of 18,214 were unemployed, to 3.9% in December 2022, when 729 out of a labor force of 18,488 were were jobless. In January 2023, the unemployment rate in Hopkins County increased to 4.7%, with the labor force rising to 18,710, including 877 Hopkins County residents who were jobless. In fact, the January 2023 unemployment rate is the highest Hopkins County has experienced in 19 months — since the jobless rate reached 5.3% in June 2021. In fact, the highest unemployment rate experienced in Hopkins County in 2022 was the 3.9% recorded during the last three months of the year; but still nearly 2% higher than the low jobless rate of 2.8% posted in April 2022 (nearly as low as the pre-pandemic low and 24-year low of 2.7% recorded in April and May of 2019).
Delta County had a 4.9% unemployment rate in January 2023, leaving 20 more people unemployed in January than the 105 seeking employment in December and 17 more than in January of 2022. Delta County’s labor pool increased over the last year, rising from 2,497 in January 2022 to 2,518 in December and 2,556 in January 2023.
Lamar County’s unemployment rate increased from 4.2% in December to 4.9% in January, with 162 more people jobless in January 2022 than the 1,034 who were unemployed in Lamar County in December 2022. Lamar County’s labor force has grown over the past year, from 24,331 in January 2022 to 24,347 in December 2022 and 24,286 in January 2023.
Cass County’s unemployment rate was 5% in January 2023, up from 4.1% in December 2022, but still not as high as the 5.8% recorded in January 2022. The labor force and number of unemployed in Cass County had dwindled over the year ending Jan. 31, 2023, with 701 out of 12,129 potential workers unemployed in January 2022, then, 483 out of a potential work pool of 11,778 in December 2022 and 591out of a potential labor force of 11,847 jobless in January 2023.
Red River County had a January 2023 unemployment rate of 5.2%, with 260 out of a possible CLF of 4,997. That’s up from 4.6% one month before, when the CLF numbered 4,937, with 260 without jobs, but still less than the 5.1% unemployed in Red River county in January of 2022, when 307 of the CLF of 4,474 were jobless.
Rounding out the nine-county NETWDA was Morris County. At 6.5% (289 individuals out of a CFL of 4,449), the January 2023 unemployment rate is the highest in the WDA. That 1.2% higher than in December of 2022 (when 234 of the 4,449 CFL were unemployed), but not nearly as bad as in January 2022, when 8.2% (268 individuals) of the 4,449 Morris County CFL were jobless.
February
Employment estimates released by TWC are produced in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. All estimates are subject to revision. To access this and more employment data, visit TexasLMI.com.The February 2023 unemployment report is scheduled to be released Friday, Jan. 24, on the TLMI website.