Beaumont-Port Arthur lagging for employment, report suggests
Published 8:44 am Monday, March 12, 2018
By Ken Stickney
Texas may be a Lone Star success story when it comes to jobs, but the Beaumont-Port Arthur area is a falling star, at least for now.
Unemployment is 4 percent is this state, better than the national average of 4.1.
The Texas economy added 240,500 — that’s roughly the population of Lubbock — seasonally adjusted, non-farm jobs in 2017, Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Andres Alcantar said.
“Thanks to our state’s world-class employers, diverse industry sectors and highly talented workforce, Texas continues to be a national leader in job creation and the premier place to do business,” he said in an issued statement.
The state added 16,000 jobs in January. Annual employment growth for Texas was 2 percent in January, and the state has marked 93 consecutive months of annual growth.
The Beaumont-Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area — it includes some 410,00 people in Hardin, Jefferson, Newton and Orange counties — ranked 26th among 27 Texas MSAs for joblessness.
Unemployment here is 7.3 percent, with 12,800 unemployed and 163,000 people working in the four-county area. Only the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission MSA had worse unemployment, with 7.6 of eligible workers unemployed.
The three best Texas MSAs for employment were:
- Midland Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2.4 percent unemployed.
- Amarillo MSA, 2.8 percent.
- Austin-Round Rock MSA, 3.0 percent.
“This growth reflects our state’s strong ability to continuously attract more employers and workers,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Ruth R. Hughs.
