Is Midland headed toward a tight workforce?
A reopening economy and rising oilfield activity are providing a boost to the areas labor market. Figures released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission showed the May unemployment rate in the Midland metropolitan statistical area (MSA)  which includes Midland and Martin counties  fell to 6.2 percent from 6.9 percent in April. It is also almost half the 12.3 percent reported last May as the economic impact of the pandemic and oil market crash were taking hold on Midlands labor market. Odessa also saw its unemployment rate decline. In fact, Midlands western neighbor reported the largest decline among the commissions MSAs, falling a full percentage point from 10.1 percent in April to 9.1 percent in May. Odessas unemployment rate was 15.9 percent a year ago. Willie Taylor, chief executive officer of the commissions Workforce Solutions Permian Basin, which oversees 17 West Texas counties, said he is pleased to see the labor market moving in the right direction. He offered a warning, though, that he expects the region  like much of the rest of the country  to suffer a critical labor shortage in the coming months. If you have workers, be nice to them, he advised. He added that his board members tell him theyre offering a variety of incentives, including raising wages, to attract and retain workers. To help counter the shortage, he said his office will be holding virtual job fairs every other week. Next week, the center will hold a job fair focused on the leisure and hospitality sector. The pandemic prompted many women to exit the workforce in order to care for their children, most of whom were attending school remotely last year, Taylor noted. Amid the pandemic, he said, everyone has a clear understanding of how important teachers are.  Childcare concerns remain a barrier to bringing women back into the workforce, he said. We do have childcare resources, he said. Taylor said he is seeing people come into his offices seeking short-term training for trades that yield high-wage jobs. He said he hopes to help recent high school graduates who arent going to college or enlisting in the military in an effort to add them to the workforce. This will be a very tight workforce for the next few months, he said. Midlands civilian labor force shrank by about 450 to 97,981 in May but is up by 941 from May 2020. Odessas civilian labor force, on the other hand, remains about 3,300 below year-ago levels. Taylor said it will be awhile before the labor force again rises above 100,000 as it had prior to the pandemic. The number of employed Midlanders rose about 300 from April to May, and there are just under 6,800 more employed than this time a year ago. The number of unemployed Midlanders plunged by about 700 from April to May to 6,073 and is about 5,800 lower than a year ago. Midland only added 100 jobs from April to May for a job count of 96,000. A 400-job gain in the Leisure and Hospitality sector was offset by the loss of 200 jobs in the Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector and 100 jobs lost in the Government sector. For the year, Midland has added back 2,900 jobs, led by the Leisure and Hospitality sector with 2,100 new jobs and the Government sector with 600 new jobs. The Education and Health Services sector added 300 jobs and the Mining, Logging and Construction and the Information sector each added 100 jobs. The Professional and Business Services sector led declines with the loss of 500 jobs, followed by the Manufacturing sector, down 200 jobs. All other sectors were unchanged. Statewide, Texas reported an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent, down from 6.7 percent in April. The state added 34,200 jobs over the month, recording gains in 12 of the last 13 months. Since May 2020, the state has added 804,200 jobs. Amarillo continued to have the states lowest unemployment at 3.9 percent, followed by Austin-Round Rock at 4.2 percent and College Station-Bryan at 4.5 percent. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission continued to report the highest rate at 9.7 percent. Midland Unemployment  January 2021 8.2 percent  January 2020 2.4 percent  February 2021 8.3 percent  February 2020 2.3 percent  March 2021 7.6 percent  March 2020 3.4 percent  April 2021 6.9 percent  April 2020 10.2 percent  May 2021 6.2 percent  May 2020 12.3 percent