Labor Market in Midland/Odessa Coming Back From Pandemic

The labor market in Midland and Odessa is slowing coming back from the pandemic and the oil market crash.

According to the Midland Reporter-Telegram, the Texas Workforce Commission reports that April unemployment in Midland and Martin counties fell from 7.6% to 6.8% which is better numbers from April 2020 when Midland was at 10.2%.

Odessa's unemployment went from 10.9% down to 9.9% in April and was also much better than April 2020 when unemployment was at 13.5%.

Willie Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Workforce Commission's Workforce Solutions Permian Basin said the region is not close to full employment but we are on the right path to it.

Just an example of how bad it got and how quickly, Midland saw an unemployment rate of 3.4% in March 2020, by April 2020 it increased to 10.2%.

Taylor stated that unemployment applications are down and training is up in the 17 counties the Workforce Commission represents.

Taylor has been trying to figure out the impact that the halting of the $300 a week federal supplemental unemployment benefit by Gov. Greg Abbott will have on his office.

“The governor can take away that money, but it’s still the individual’s choice to enter the job market or not,” said Taylor, adding that he is urging those that are receiving benefits to be prepared for June 26, 2021.

Taylor also said that when people do go back to work, the good thing happening now is there will be better wages for most jobs since companies are raising them to attract workers.

Jobs being offered right now run the gamut from truck drivers to leisure and hospitality which is the industry that needs the most workers after the pandemic.

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