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UTB-CBIRD Report: “At the Crossroads” Demographics 16
While Cameron County’s unemployment rate compares well with other border
regions, it is over twice the rate for the State of Texas. And while it is “good
news” that unemployment has decreased since 1990, the “bad news” is that it is
still more than double the state’s average. Unemployment numbers are
increasingly worse for Hidalgo, Willacy and Starr Counties, Figure 2.16.
Figure 2.16. Unemployment Rates: 1990, 1995, 2000
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
40.0%
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
7%
6%
5%
CAMERON
COUNTY: Over
2 Times The
State Rate
14% 13%
11%
OTHER
BORDER
COUNTIES:
Even Worse
28%
22%
16%
20%
22%
18%
Texas Cameron Co. Hidalgo Co. Willacy Co. Starr Co.
Cameron Hidalgo Starr Willacy Texas U.S.
Jan-98 13.7% 21.1% 36.8% 23.6% 4.9% 4.7%
Jan-99 13.6% 19.5% 33.9% 22.3% 5.1% 4.3%
Jan-00 13.8% 17.0% 24.4% 21.7% 4.7% 4.1%
Jan-01 8.5% 14.8% 26.8% 17.4% 4.1% 4.7%
Jan-02 10.1% 14.1% 23.9% 18.8% 5.7% 5.6%
54%
35%
31%
Source: Labor Market Information Dept. of Texas Workforce
Commission with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor
While Texas has been comparable to the U.S. in unemployment for the past
decade, the border counties shoulder the largest burden of this unemployment.
Figure 2.17, which shows the yearly unemployment breakdown since 1998,
indicates that while unemployment seems to have hit a low point in 2001, it is
again “on the rise” for Cameron County.
Figure 2.17. Unemployment Rates by Year, 1998 - 2002
Source: Texas Workforce Commission
1990
1995
2000
No matter how you
measure them,
unemployment rates
along the border can
be described in
multiples of the state
rate.
Una Region -- Un Futuro