COVID-19 Update
April 21, 2020
General: Don’t forget to register for the Town Hall meeting with Texas Workforce Employer Commissioner Aaron Demerson scheduled for Thursday, April 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. You can register at: https://bit.ly/wctownhall. Please submit questions in advance to: webinar@workforcesystem.org. Commissioner Demerson will be joined by several of his legal staff, so this is great opportunity to get answers to your questions.
· In case you missed it, during today’s press conference, Governor Abbott highlighted WorkInTexas and the approximately 500,000 jobs currently open and available. He also talked about the Workforce Solutions system of services offered through the 28 local workforce boards and specifically read the website address for each of the boards.
Unemployment and Economic Data
Unemployment claims continue to rise and have increased by almost 1,800 since the prior report.
As shown below, UI claims peaked during the week of March 22. Due to the challenges in filing for unemployment, many individuals who first became unemployed in March are just now showing up in the data.
· This chart compares Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim data for the period of March 7, 2019 through April 11, 2019 with the same period for 2020. The data reflects the low incidence of UI claims across the region in 2019 and the dramatic rise in UI claims in 2020, with Taylor County demonstrating the most dramatic increases.
As of April 17, a total of 2,669 employers have been affected by temporary or permanent layoffs or closing. This represents approximately one-third of all employers in the West Central Texas region.
Industry sector data is not available by workforce area or county level at this time, however, the chart below provides an overview of layoffs by industry sector at the state level.
