Midland unemployment dips to 2.4 percent in March Tall City added 1,100 jobs from February to March

Casing sits on a rack near Trinidad Drilling Rig 433 on Nov. 2, 2016, in Midland County. Casing sits on a rack near Trinidad Drilling Rig 433 on Nov. 2, 2016, in Midland County. Photo: James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram Photo: James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Midland unemployment dips to 2.4 percent in March 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Signs reading “Now Hiring” or “Always Hiring” are proliferating around the Tall City, a testament to the strength of Midland’s labor market.

The Midland metropolitan statistical area posted an unemployment rate of 2.4 percent in March, down from 2.5 percent in February and 3.5 percent last March, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Midland continues to report the state’s lowest unemployment, ahead of Amarillo and Bryan College-Station, each with 3 percent.

Odessa saw its unemployment rate dip to 3.1 percent from 3.2 percent and is well below the 4.9 percent Odessa recorded in March 2017.

Willie Taylor, chief executive officer of the commission’s Workforce Solutions Permian Basin, predicted that the tight labor market will result in continued upward pressure on wages “as long as we have a shortage of skilled workers.”

He noted that skilled workers are needed in all sectors of the Midland economy, and not just in Midland but Texas and across the country as well.

With Texas and national unemployment hovering at 4 percent, Taylor said Midland’s thriving economy is no longer a magnet for residents of other areas that were once suffering economically.

“When you’re in Human Resources and you’re recruiting, that’s an issue,” he said. “It will be a challenge to bring in guest workers.”

Those challenges are why there’s a widespread consensus that this area needs to grow its own workforce through efforts to retain the graduates of local high schools, community colleges and universities. “We also need skilled workers immediately,” he said.

Area officials also need to address issues like the cost of living, housing, roads, and availability of childcare, he said.

Taylor estimates the Permian Basin region he oversees has a population of over 400,000, approximately 240,000 of whom make up the civilian labor force. He figures that makes the Permian Basin the state’s 10th largest of its 27 MSAs.

Midland’s civilian labor force grew by 1,000 from February to March, as did the number of employed Midlanders, and the labor force is about 8,000 higher than March 2017.

Midland and Odessa lead the state in job growth, and Midland posted sharp growth in March. Midland added 1,100 jobs between February and March for a 1.1 percent growth rate. The dominant industrial sector, Mining, Logging and Construction, also dominated in new jobs, adding 1,100 from February to March. The only other sector to add jobs was Leisure and Hospitality with 100 new jobs, which was offset by the loss of 100 jobs in the Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector. All other industrial sectors were unchanged.

For the 12 months from March 2017 to March 2018, Midland’s job growth rate jumped to 9.9 percent as 8,900 new jobs were added during that time. The Mining, Logging and Construction sector led with 6,000 new jobs, followed by Trade, Transportation and Utilities with 1,200 new jobs and Leisure and Hospitality with 800 new jobs. The Manufacturing sector added 300 new jobs, followed by the Financial Activities and the Professional and Business Services sectors with 200 new jobs each and the Education and Health Services and the Other Services sectors with 100 new jobs each. No sector lost jobs during that time.

Statewide, unemployment remained steady at 4 percent for a third consecutive month, the commission said. The state added 32,000 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in March to mark the 21st consecutive month of employment growth. Employers have added 294,100 jobs over the last year, the commission said.

While Midland recorded the lowest unemployment, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission posted the highest at 6.9 percent.

Midland unemployment

January 2018 2.4 percent

January 2017 4 percent

February 2018 2.5 percent

February 2017 3.8 percent

March 2018 2.4 percent

March 2017 3.5 percent

Preliminary numbers for March with February numbers in parentheses:

Midland 2.4 (2.5)

Amarillo 3.0 (2.9)

College Station-Bryan 3.0 (3.0)

Austin-Round Rock 3.1 (3.0)

Odessa 3.1 (3.2)

Lubbock 3.5 (3.1)

San Angelo 3.4 (3.3)

Abilene 3.5 (3.5)

San Antonio-New Braunfels 3.5 (3.4)

Sherman-Denison 3.5 (3.4)

Dallas-Plano-Irving 3.7 (3.7)

Fort Worth-Arlington 3.7 (3.6)

Tyler 3.7 (3.8)

Wichita Falls 3.7 (3.5)

Waco 3.8 (3.7)

Laredo 4.0 (3.9)

Killeen-Temple 4.1 (4.1)

Victoria 4.3 (4.3)

El Paso 4.5 (4.5)

Longview 4.5 (4.56)

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land 4.6 (4.7)

Texarkana 4.7 (4.8)

Corpus Christi 5.5 (5.5)

Brownsville-Harlingen 6.5 (6.7)

Beaumont-Port Arthur 6.6 (6.8)

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 6.9 (7.7)