Amarillo unemployment rate tied for lowest in Texas

​​​​AMARILLO – Amarillo’s 3.4 percent unemployment rate is tied for the lowest in Texas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That’s good in a neighborly fashion, as most residents who want jobs have them, but a lack of available, qualified individuals creates a difficult environment for businesses to grow.

Although the city’s population rose by 4.5 percent from 2010 to 2015, the labor force grew by just 0.8 percent, per the American Community Survey.

Texas Workforce Solutions’ Labor Market & Career Information department anticipates the Texas Panhandle will add 2,410 food and beverage service jobs from 2014–24, a whopping 26 percent increase.

Another 2,050 retail sales workers jobs are expected to be added in that time.

City Manager Jared Miller named defense, aerospace engineering and healthcare as industries he’d prefer to see droves of residents embrace.

But those sectors are just a few of many for which there isn’t a local, on-demand workforce that is educated, waiting and ready to be employed.​​​​