Hill and Bosque county March unemployment rates were down from both the previous month and the March 2023 rates, according to data released by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) last week.
In March, there were 731 unemployed individuals out of a total Hill County civilian labor force of 18,136, for an unemployment rate of 4.0%.
In February, Hill County’s rate was reported at 4.3%, and the March 2023 rate stood at 4.5%.
Bosque County’s March rate was 3.5%, with 311 unemployed individuals out of a total labor force of 8,812.
That is down from the February rate of 4.0% and the March 2023 rate of 4.5%.
Overall, the Texas labor market maintained its momentum in March to reach a 36th consecutive month of positive annual growth and once again set new record-high levels for jobs, Texans employed and the civilian labor force.
Texas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm job count increased to 14,115,700 after 19,100 jobs were added over the month in March, reflecting growth in 45 of the last 47 months.
Texas also led the nation with the largest absolute over-the-year increase in total nonfarm employment, which grew by 270,700 jobs from March 2023 to March 2024. This represents a 2.0% annual growth rate in Texas, which outpaced the U.S. growth rate by 0.1 percentage points.
The Texas seasonally adjusted civilian labor force grew over the month by 20,800 people to reach 15,189,900 in March. This included the addition of 12,100 employed Texans over the month.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate registered at 3.9% for the 10th consecutive month while showing a drop from the 4.0% unemployment rate from March 2023.
“Texas continues to be a top place for growth and economic success with thousands of jobs added by employers in March,” said TWC Chairman Bryan Daniel. “Our world-class workforce of talented Texans attracts employers from many expanding industries.”
The largest over-the-month addition of jobs occurred in leisure and hospitality, which achieved a new series high with 7,300 jobs added. Another 3,700 jobs were added in mining and logging. Other services added 2,400 jobs over the month in March, which also marked an over-the-year growth rate of 4.6%—2.8 percentage points higher than the industry’s national growth rate.
The Lakelander 