By James Hartley
Twitter @ByJamesHartley
The novel coronavirus pandemic has hit the U.S. economy hard, and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is no exception.
Unemployment in March, when the virus initially led to shutdowns in the economy, was at about 4.2% in DFW, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That was a slight increase over the rates from the year before after a drop between February 2019 and February 2020. When government orders led to most businesses shutting down or moving to at-home operations, though, things changed.
Unemployment hit its year-to-date high in April, reaching 12.8%, according to the bureau. Texas businesses in April were required to shutter storefront and send employees home to work.
The efforts to curb the virus led to many workers in hospitality and food service either without a job or furloughed. As restrictions were lessened, the job market seemed to respond.
By September, as more people are getting back into the workplace, the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment rate had plummeted to 7.5% in DFW, a slight increase over August but lower than April.
Many small businesses in DFW, like Tin Cup in Arlington, have been prioritizing who works and how much. With take-out only in the early months of the virus and limited capacity more recently, the number of employees needed in the shop are lower than before.
Owner Damon Carney said his sandwich shop was making sure employees who had bills like rent and utilities to pay were working more hours than those who didn’t have to consider such expenses.
“We’re trying to get everybody the hours they need,” Carney said. “I know some of my folks who are in high school and living with parents still need the money from work, but their need isn’t as much as those who have to pay rent and their own bills. It’s hard on everybody right now, but we’re trying to be strategic and help people as much as we can.”
Tin Cup’s industry was hit hardest, too.
Between March and April, jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry dropped by 38%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That number started to rebound by September, the latest data available but the industry was still facing the heaviest losses at nearly 18% fewer jobs than in March.
While seven of the nine industries tracked by the bureau took hits in DFW, workers in the professional and business services and the financial activities markets saw an increase from March to September.
Professional and business services saw a single-digit increase in jobs from March to April. By September, that increase had grown to 14.8% more jobs in the market. Financial activities initially took a single-digit percent loss in jobs, it is now up by 1.4% over March.
| Background on story There were three questions I hoped to answer with this story: How has COVID impacted employment in DFW? Which civilian career areas have been hardest hit since the start of COVID? Which civilian career areas have been safest since the start COVID? |
James Hartley 