Texas added 43,900 jobs in June and the state unemployment rate dropped slightly from 6.6% in May to 6.5% in June, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, who released its estimated June employment numbers Friday.
The Dallas Fort Worth area's unemployment rate also fell slightly from 5.6% in May to 5.4% in June. According to the Texas Workforce Commission's estimates, Texas employers added 55,800 jobs in June.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued a statement following the release of the June numbers Friday lauding what he called the booming Texas economy.
“The June jobs report shows that our young, growing, and skilled workforce has forged a diversified and resilient economy, with Texas employers adding back more than 1.1 million jobs since the end of April 2020, the peak pandemic impact on jobs," Abbott said in a statement.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
After the release of the May employment numbers, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said its unemployment forecast weakened from an estimated 6.6% job growth in 2021 to 4.1%, citing an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations and slowing of COVID-19 vaccinations.
But the June numbers showed a stronger outlook for the future, pushing the bank's Texas Employment Forecast up to 5.6% job growth 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,” Keith Phillips, Dallas Fed assistant vice president and senior economist, said 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.”
Business News
The updated forecast predicts 695,600 jobs will be added in Texas this year, leading to a total employment number of 13.0 million in December.
With the addition of the June numbers, Texas has added 267,400 jobs through June.
Additional information about the June employment numbers as well as the Federal Reserve Bank's employment forecast can be found here.
