Big news for the Edinburg area economy in the September jobs report, released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The Edinburg area was among the fastest growing regional economies in the country in September. Total nonfarm employment in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area increased by 14,200 jobs on a year-over-year basis, a growth rate of 5.5%. Of the 100 largest metro areas in the U.S., Edinburg’s regional economy ranked 13th:
- Urban Honolulu (12.7%)
- Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise (8.0%)
- Austin-Round Rock (7.4%)
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford (7.0%)
- Spokane-Spokane Valley (6.7%)
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (6.6%)
- Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers (6.4%)
- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (6.0%)
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (6.0%)
- North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton (5.9%)
- Provo-Orem (5.9%)
- Salt Lake City (5.6%)
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission (5.5%)
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (5.4%)
- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua (5.3%)
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (5.2%)
- San Antonio-New Braunfels (5.2%)
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (5.1%)
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood (5.0%)
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro (4.9%)
Of the 10 largest metro areas in Texas, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission ranked third, behind Austin and Beaumont (5.7%).
The figures released today by BLS are not adjusted for seasonal hiring fluctuations, meaning they could be adjusted slightly upward or downward later when the final data is published.
However, we do now have preliminary, seasonally adjusted data for September, showing that employers in the Edinburg area reported 274,900 payroll jobs, an all-time high for the regional economy. The previous high mark was 274,400 jobs in February 2020.
So, as of now, it looks like we have recovered all the jobs lost as a result of the pandemic. We’ll know more around this time next month when BLS publishes the next round of data.
