The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released employment numbers Friday for July, where Texas added 24,700 jobs and state unemployment rate fell to 8% from 8.4% in June.
According to Dallas Fed assistant vice president Keith Phillips, the surge in COVID-19 cases slowed job growth in July.
"After a strong bounce back in May and slower but still strong growth in June, job growth slowed sharply in July after a resurgence of new COVID-19 cases began in mid-June," Phillips said in a press release. "High-frequency data had suggested a sharp slowing in July, and while this same data suggest some improvement in early August, further declines in COVID-19 cases will likely be necessary for a significant acceleration of jobs."
Texas jobs rose 2.5% in July after increasing 14.7% in June, according to the Dallas Fed.
The Dallas Fed's employment forecast projects a 5.2% decline in jobs this year, a total of 672,000 jobs, a slight decline from the 4.8% total predicted in June. To date, employment is down 10.4%.
According to Phillips, forecast uncertainty still remains as new daily COVID-19 infections have only declined at a gradual pace since its peak in mid-July.
"Currently, we expect job growth to be about 2.1 percent in the last five months of the year," Phillips said. "If the virus stalls out and fails to decline, job growth may be weaker, but if new cases drop sharply, job growth would likely be stronger."
Texas News
News from around the state of Texas.
Unemployment rates fell in seven of nine major Texas metro areas, including Dallas and Fort Worth, according to the seasonally adjusted numbers from the Dallas Fed.
The two exceptions were Houston and San Antonio.
