By the numbers the Austin Round Rock Metro unemployment rate has more than doubled. The Texas Workforce Commission reports in their latest count, which covers November, the unemployment rate is 5.9%, which in real bodies means the metro has 74,300 residents still looking for work.
Back in October the TWC says the unemployment rate was at 5%, meaning the rate grew by almost one fifth in just a month. But if you look longterm, and go all the way back to November of last year, you get a clearer picture of what the metro area was like pre-COVID. Back then the unemployment rate was 2.5%, meaning the local unemployment rate has doubled due to the pandemic. Since that time one year ago the area workforce has also grown, adding 12,700 to the labor market, and also adding to the unemployment rate.
State wide the unemployment rate is 8.1%, up from 6.9% in October, as the Texas private sector added 65,800 jobs over the month
