Cities see labor force expansion

EAST TEXAS — In the past year, Texas’ job growth rate has outpaced the national rate, with three East Texas cities seeing significant non-farm job additions along labor force growth.

According to data from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and our news partner KETK, Texas added 146,300 non-farm jobs for an annual growth rate of 1%, faster than the nation as a whole by 0.4%. In East Texas, the metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) of Longview, Texarkana and Tyler saw the addition of over 3,000 non-farm jobs, supporting the growth of the labor force from November 2024 to November 2025.

The civilian labor force for Texarkana MSA and Tyler MSA had over-the-year (2024 to 2025) growth rates of 1.9% and 2.1%, respectively. While both cities saw employment rates increase, however, the over-the-year rates for unemployment also increased with Texarkana’s at 10.7% and Tyler’s at 5.5%.

“The civilian labor force consists of both the employed and unemployed,” The TWC explained. “The unemployment rate is the percentage of the civilian labor force that is unemployed. Although the number employed grew in both MSAs, the number of unemployed grew at a faster/larger rate than those employed during this time which would explain how both employment and unemployment can rise simultaneously.”

Longview, however, saw labor force growth with employment growth and a decrease in unemployment over-the-year rates, dropping from a 4.9 rate in 2024 to a 4.6 rate in 2025.

Even with the simultaneous growth of employment and unemployment rates in Texarkana and Tyler, East Texas stayed closely matched with statewide rates, with Tyler’s unemployment rate slightly lower than Texas’.

Employment trends aren’t necessarily related to the cities sizes, though. According to the TWC, the rates are “more directly linked to industrial concentration of an area including competitive advantages like area resources, infrastructure, and labor force characteristics including educational attainment and availability.”

Compared to larger MSAs in the state, like Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, the Longview, Texarkana and Tyler MSAs saw greater employment concentration rates in industries such as education and health services and trade, transportation and utilities.

“By observation,” the TWC said, “concentration of employment beyond the main drivers is more varied by industry in smaller metros compared to larger ones.”

Out of the 3,100 non-farm jobs added to the three East Texas MSAs, trade, transportation and utilities and private education and health services industries had the highest additions, totaling 1,200 and 600 jobs respectively.

As East Texas industries and the labor force continue to grow, the TWC stresses the importance of training and education for workers.

“TWC is dedicated to ensuring every Texan has the skills needed to succeed in our state’s evolving economy,” the TWC said.

The TWC offers training grants to help education partners provide customized traning to local businesses in their communities.

“As the demand for specialized occupations grows, investing in targeted training and education becomes essential,” the TWC said. “By creating direct partheways to technical careers, TWC can ensure the growing labor force is prepared to fill critical, high-demand roles and drive the state’s economic momentum.”