REGIONAL TRENDS
ANNUAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
PERCENT CHANGE
UNITED
STATES
TEXAS
8
7.4
6.2
6.2
6
6.2
4.9
YEAR
2013
2014
4.3
4.4
5.3
5.1
2
6.0
5.5
5.3
4
COASTAL
BEND
6.6
4.5
2015
4.6 4.3
2016 2017
3.7
3.7
2018
NOVEMBER
LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE TRENDS
60%
59.06%
58.41%
59%
58%
56.59%
57%
56.05%
55.76%
56%
55.25%
55.33%
55.02%
55%
54.64%
54%
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
JANUARY
2018
MAY
2018
JUNE
2018
JULY
What Does The Labor Force Participation Rate Indicate?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is the number of people in the labor force as a
percentage of the civilian population 16 years old and over. It is the percentage of the population that is
either
working or actively seeking work.
While the rate in the Coastal Bend is lower today that it was five years ago, this trend is still very much in
line with the overall trajectory of the Texas Participation Rate. While many factors from an aging
population to long-term unemployment could have an impact on the decrease, this measure provides
new
insight into the growth and sustainability of the Coastal Bend economy.
The latest Labor Force Participation Rate for the Coastal Bend region is 54.64% with Texas at 61.43%. This
was roughly 260,838 workers in the labor force out of the total working population estimated at 477,385
working-age adults.
5
WFSCB Annual Report 2018