State unemployment claims increase for second straight week
COLLEGE STATION – During the week ending Sept. 5, Texas’ initial unemployment claims increased for the second straight week to 67,600 claims.
That brings the total since March 21 to 3.4 million, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
The number of Texans who continue to claim unemployment insurance increased the week of Aug. 29 to 1.06 million as the number of people that continue to be unemployed remain high.
"The recovery in the labor market has lost momentum as both initial and continuing claims remain high, and as some job layoffs are becoming permanent," said Real Estate Center Research Economist Dr. Luis Torres.
More people in Texas’ major and border metros filed new unemployment claims during the week ending Aug. 29, matching the upward trend seen in the statewide numbers.
Using data from the DOL and the Employment and Training Administration, the Center has estimated unemployment claims for Texas’ major and border metros from March 21 to August 29:
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugarland, 778,100 claims;
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 740,000 claims;
San Antonio-New Braunfels, 235,800 claims;
Austin-Round Rock, 201,700 claims;
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, 91,300 claims;
El Paso, 77,700 claims;
Brownsville-Harlingen, 40,300 claims; and
Laredo, 24,100 claims.
Retail trade, administrative/support/waste management/remediation services, accommodation and food services, and healthcare and social assistance represented the sectors with the most unemployment claims.
Nearly 60.2 million Americans have filed unemployment claims in the past 25 weeks. New claims remained nearly unchanged at 884,200 in the week ending Sept. 5.
U.S. job openings increased in July to 6.6 million, improving the ratio of job seekers per job to around two to one.
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