Texas unemployment claims see significant drop | Texas unemployment claims see significant drop | https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/news/newstalk-texas/?Item=25817 | 2021-04-20T05:00:00Z | 2021-04-20T14:00:00Z | COLLEGE STATION – Initial jobless claims in Texas decreased significantly the week ending April 10, falling around 21,600 claims to 63,000.
About 4.94 million unemployment claims have been filed since March 21, 2020, according to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) data.
Continuing unemployment claims decreased to 288,400 the week ending April 3, registering the lowest number since the pandemic started shutting down the economy March of last year.
"Both decreases in initial and continuing claims indicate that labor market conditions are improving noticeably," said Dr. Luis Torres, a research economist for the Texas Real Estate Research Center. "Still, levels of claims remain high."
The number of workers receiving benefits through the pandemic unemployment assistance program, which is open to gig workers and others who don’t typically receive benefits, decreased considerably the week ending April 10.
Last week, U.S. initial claims decreased to 576,100, the lowest level of the pandemic. This brings the 56-week total to 79.6 million.
Fewer people in most of Texas' major and border metros filed new unemployment claims the week ending April 10. Using data from the DOL and the Employment and Training Administration, the Center has estimated unemployment claims for Texas' major and border metros since March 21, 2020:
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, 1.17 million claims; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 1.13 million claims; San Antonio-New Braunfels, 345,300 claims; Austin-Round Rock, 289,800 claims; McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, 136,300 claims; El Paso, 118,600 claims; Brownsville-Harlingen, 60,200 claims; and Laredo, 34,100 claims.
"Increasing vaccination rates should lead to a faster recovery in the leisure and hospitality sector, possibly creating a wave of hiring that would allow thousands of laid-off workers to find jobs," said Torres.
Educational services and healthcare and social assistance registered the highest numbers of initial claims the week ending April 3. The sectors were followed by retail trade and administrative/support/waste management/remediation services.
The Texas Real Estate Research Center has a wealth of economic information online for free. Source: Texas Real Estate Research Center | Texas Real Estate Research Center
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