Unemployment in South Texas
(Seasonally Adjusted %)
10
Corpus Christi
Brownsville
Laredo
San Antonio
McAllen-Edinburg
8
6
4
2
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
| 2014
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
| 2015
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: TAMU Real Estate Center.
Job losses among oil-related industries were more visible in South Texas’s rural
communities than in the metro areas. So far only the metro areas of Corpus Christi
and Laredo have shown significant increases in unemployment. As in the similar oil
episode of the 1980s, San Antonio’s more diversified labor market has continued to
expand with declining unemployment. That said, Corpus Christi’s unemployment rate
of between 5.0 and 5.5 percent is significantly lower than communities located further
south in the Rio Grande Valley, and on a par with Laredo. rates, although a slowdown
was also apparent.
. . . impact
of recent
oil market
collapse
pales in
comparison
to the similar
episode in
the mid1980s.
Annual Review of South Texas Economy
DIVERGING REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Due to its high exposure to the oil and gas industry, Corpus Christi posted the
sharpest decline after Brownsville, dropping from about 3 percent near the end of
2014 to -1 percent a year later. While the setback in Corpus Christi’s job market seems
severe, the impact of recent oil market collapse pales in comparison to the similar
episode in the mid-1980s. The large amount of recent industrial project construction
has meant the most severe impacts have been lessened in Corpus Christi. Similarly,
construction of midstream and downstream (export and transportation) operations and
related activity, have meant the overall economy has not been as dramatically impacted.
11