Labor Market Intelligence

Coastal Bend Continues Job Growth in Key Sectors

August 2024 LMI

**Released September 20, 2024. Reflects data up to August 2024. **

Month-Over-Month Shifts

In the Texas Workforce Commission’s August 2024 report, the Coastal Bend region’s unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9%, the same as in July 2024. Of the eleven counties in the Coastal Bend region, six saw a decrease in unemployment rates during this period. As of August 2024, the 4.9% unemployment rate represented 12,982 residents actively seeking employment, with 13,223 job openings available throughout the region.

Year-Over-Year Shifts

The Coastal Bend’s unemployment rate saw a slight year-over-year increase of 0.2 percentage points, rising from 4.7% in August 2023 to 4.9% in August 2024. During this time, two of the eleven counties in the Coastal Bend region experienced a reduction in unemployment rates.

Comparison with State and National Trends

Month-Over-Month

The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for both the nation and Texas remained unchanged at 4.4% from July 2024 to August 2024.

Year-Over-Year

Texas’ non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate experienced a year-over-year increase of 0.2 percentage points, rising from 4.2% in August 2023 to 4.4% in August 2024. Nationally, the unemployment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points over the same period, moving from 3.9% to 4.4%.

Texas Labor Market Growth

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Texas registered at 4.1%, which was 0.1 percentage points below the national rate.

The Texas labor market achieved a new record-high level for jobs and the civilian labor force in August. Texas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment increased to 14,239,200 after 78,000 jobs were added over the month. Texas added 302,400 jobs from August 2023 to August 2024. Texas’ annual nonfarm growth rate currently sits at 2.2 percent, outpacing the U.S. growth rate by 0.7 percentage points.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted civilian labor force achieved a new record-high of 15,398,400 after adding 44,800 people over the month in August. This marks the eighth consecutive month of growth for Texas’ civilian labor force. Over the year, Texas’ civilian labor force has added 277,900 people.

Leisure and Hospitality added 15,500 jobs in August, registering as the industry with the largest over-the-month increase. Professional and Business Services added 12,700 jobs over the month and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities added 9,600 jobs. With the addition of 8,300 jobs in August, Construction showed 4.4% growth over the year, which outpaced the industry’s national growth rate by 1.6 percentage points.

“For the last eight months, Texas’ civilian labor force has reached record-high levels,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Alberto Treviño III. “Our partnership with the 28 Workforce Solutions Boards helps to strengthen the workforce by connecting job seekers to rewarding, in-demand careers across our great state.”

“Texas continues to outpace the nation in annual employment growth, which highlights the hard work and ingenuity of private-sector Texas employers,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Joe Esparza. “I encourage Texas employers to partner with TWC, educational institutions, and local Workforce Development Boards to capitalize on this momentum.”

Sectors Driving Growth

Both the Coastal Bend region and the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) displayed growth in diverse industries, weekly wages, and year-over-year employment statistics.

The Construction industry experienced a 13.9% increase region wide, followed by the Manufacturing industry which increased to 4.3% compared to August 2023

For the Corpus Christi MSA, the Mining, Logging and Construction industry lead the growth rate with a 3.4% increase in 2023, followed by the Manufacturing industry with a 2.2% increase year-over-year.

Resources

Job seekers in this region have access to *13,223 job openings spanning various sectors. To explore these job opportunities, individuals can register in WorkinTexas.com or visit our website at wfscb.org

*Advertised jobs are spidered daily in real-time. Real-time advertised jobs are collected from employer corporate sites, hospitals, non-profits, local and federal government

Labor Market Information Definitions

Not Seasonally Adjusted (Actual) – Data has not been subjected to the seasonal adjustment process. In other words, the effects of regular or seasonal patterns have not been removed from these series. Not seasonally adjusted data is available for smaller geographies, where seasonally adjusted is only available down to the state level. Use this data to view raw numbers, and for geographies smaller than state level.

Seasonally Adjusted – Total employment and unemployment vary throughout the year. For example, higher unemployment in January and February isn’t uncommon because of work in agriculture, construction and other seasonal industries slowing down. Also, both employment and unemployment rise every June, when students enter the labor force in search of summer jobs. Seasonally adjusted numbers also take into account seasonal hiring/layoff patterns that go along with winter and summer holidays. Use this data for month-to-month comparisons for Texas and the United States.

Labor Force – Residents who are at least 16 years old, not serving in the military or institutionalized, and employed or seeking employment.

Download Targeted Occupations List 2022-2023 (PDF)

The targeted occupations list is developed by Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend for the most effective use of local workforce development resources. Sources of information for the target list are local area employers, economic development entities, chambers of commerce, community partners, Texas Workforce Commission labor market information regarding the Coastal Bend Counties, and knowledge gained from continuous contact with the above sources.

Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend’s Strategic Business Plan 2021-2025 has been updated to comply with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) regulations. The final draft has been approved by the Texas Workforce Commission.

Written comments were submitted electronically to amy.villarreal@workforcesolutionscb.org, delivered via mail or in-person to the Board Administrative offices to Amy Kiddy Villarreal, Chief Operating Officer at 400 Mann St. Suite 800, Corpus Christi TX 78401

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Local Labor Market Information

The Texas Workforce Commission collects information from Unemployment Insurance claims coupled with data from the Current Employment Statistics Program and data from other sources to produce estimates of total employment, unemployment, and unemployment rates for the 27 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and all 254 counties in the state.

Each month, the Local Area Labor Market Information (LMI) is distributed to the Coastal Bend community. These rates are provided to a wide variety of users both inside and outside government and are used as a basic allocator for federal funding in many programs.

Check out the latest Local Labor Market Information (LMI) for the Coastal Bend.

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