Texas has added 267,000 jobs so far this year, according to analysts at the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, and the unemployment rate has dropped to 6.5%.
The numbers released on Friday included stronger job additions in June and May numbers revised upward. In June alone, the state added nearly 44,000 jobs. The Fed said job growth will increase by 5.6% in 2021.
“Healthy job growth in May and June and a stronger outlook for U.S. GDP growth in the second half of the year pushed up the forecast,” said Keith Phillips, Dallas Fed assistant vice president and senior economist, in a press release. “Supply bottlenecks and labor constraints are likely to ease in the second half of the year. The forecast would be even stronger except for an increase in projected Texas COVID-19 hospitalizations in the third quarter, which may suppress growth somewhat.”
The Fed reports that unemployment rates for each of the nine major metro areas in Texas declined in June, including in the San Antonio-New Braunfels area, which decreased slightly to 5.5%. The unemployment rate in the San Antonio area was 9.1% for June 2020.
The rate is lower than the statewide average of 6.5% in June. The region's eight counties added over 63,000 jobs since June.
Employment is expected to reach 13 million jobs by December 2021, according to the report.
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