Interactive: Texas Economy by Region December 2011

In Texas — as well as the nation as a whole — the unemployment rate dropped significantly at the end of 2011. Check out the annual industry changes in Texas' major metropolitan areas and the unemployment rate in each county with this updated interactive map built with December employment statistics released by the Texas Workforce Commission.

The maps are color-coded to indicate whether the unemployment rate in the region is healthy (less than 5 percent), fairly healthy (5 percent to 6 percent), lower than the state average (7.2 percent), higher than the state average, but lower than the national average (8.3 percent), or higher than the national average. The rates used in these maps are not seasonally adjusted, and are compared with state and national unemployment rates that are also not seasonally adjusted. For more information on the changes in the Texas economy and overall industry changes, see here.

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By City | By County
(Click on the map for more details about the region or use the sortable table below.)

December 2011 Industry and Employment Change by City
(Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Metropolitan Area December 2011 Employment Changes since December 2010 Industry Changes since December 2010
Unemployment Rate Size of Labor Force Unemployment Rate Size of Labor Force Number of Production Jobs Number of Service Jobs Largest Industry in 2011 Fastest Growing Greatest Number of Jobs Lost
Abilene 6% 79,100 -0.2% -4,000 300 -3,800 Government Mining, Logging & Construction Education & Health Services
Amarillo 4.9% 134,400 -0.5% 2,300 700 1,300 Government Mining, Logging & Construction Information Services
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 6.3% 918,200 -0.6% 15,600 1,500 14,600 Government Leisure & Hospitality Government
Beaumont-Port Arthur 10.1% 188,700 -0.8% -1,000 1,200 -1,700 Government Manufacturing Government
Brownsville-Harlingen 11.2% 158,400 -0.5% -900 100 -600 Education & Health Services Financial Activities Government
College Station-Bryan 5.5% 115,000 -0.5% -1,900 400 -1,900 Government Transportation, Warehousing, Utilities Government
Corpus Christi 6.9% 220,600 -1.3% 6,300 1,000 6,800 Government Leisure & Hospitality Government
Dallas-Ft. Worth-Arlingont 7.1% 3,264,500 -0.9% 33,700 400 45,300 Professional Business Services Leisure & Hospitality Information Services
El Paso 9.3% 325,200 -0.4% 2,900 300 2,400 Government Retail Trade Government
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown 7.3% 2,986,600 -1% 69,200 23,200 52,600 Professional Business Services Other Services Government
Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood 7.7% 168,400 0.1% -500 300 -1,500 Government Manufacturing Education & Health Services
Laredo 6.9% 99,400 -1.2% 3,600 200 4,000 Government Manufacturing Information Services
Longview 5.9% 114,900 -1% 2,400 1,000 1,700 Education & Health Services Wholesale Trade Information Services
Lubbock 5.3% 150,700 -0.6% 4,100 300 4,100 Government Transportation, Warehousing, Utilities Information Services
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 11.2% 317,700 -1% 5,900 400 6,100 Education & Health Services Professional Business Services Wholesale Trade
Midland 3.9% 79,500 -0.8% 2,000 700 1,400 Mining, Logging & Construction Other Services Government
Odessa 5% 74,500 -1.7% 700 500 800 Mining, Logging & Construction Leisure & Hospitality Wholesale Trade
San Angelo 5.5% 55,600 -0.7% 800 200 700 Government Transportation, Warehousing, Utilities Information Services
San Antonio-New Braunfels 6.8% 992,800 -0.4% 3,100 2,000 900 Government Education & Health Services Government
Sherman-Denison 7.6% 58,300 -0.5% 1,000 200 900 Education & Health Services Other Services Information Services
Texarkana 6.8% 66,100 -0.3% 600 200 500 Government Mining, Logging & Construction Information & Other Services
Tyler 7.3% 105,200 -0.5% 2,600 300 2,100 Education & Health Services Professional Business Services Information Services
Victoria 6.3% 60,200 -0.8% 1,400 500 1,300 Government Retail Trade -
Waco 6.8% 117,400 -0.4% 1,400 600 700 Education & Health Services Mining, Logging & Construction Information; Transport & Utilities; Wholesale Trade
Wichita Falls 6.6% 70,700 -0.4% -1,700 200 -1,500 Government Mining, Logging & Construction Education & Health Services
U.S 8.3% 153,373,000 -0.8% 217,000
Texas 7.2% 12,347,300 -0.8% 155,800