San Antonio-area unemployment rate hit pandemic-era low in November

Unemployment fell in San Antonio for the fifth consecutive month in November, and the number of jobs across Texas surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time. The San Antonio metro area added 4,400 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent in November, state data released Friday showed. It was the lowest rate for San Antonio since February 2020, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the past year, San Antonio has gained nearly 49,000 jobs. “Despite increased labor market tightness and worsening supply-chain disruptions, job growth continues at a strong pace,” said Keith Phillips, senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. “Demand remains strong, likely boosted by the decline in COVID-19 cases over the past several months and healthy household finances.”

Last month, the city added 1,900 leisure and hospitality jobs, a sign of continued revival for the industry that employs about 12 percent of the city’s workers, according to figures from the Dallas Fed. The pandemic wiped out more than 61,000 San Antonio jobs in leisure and hospitality and there are still nearly 11,000 fewer people in that industry than before the pandemic. Statewide, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.2 percent last month, one percentage point higher than the national rate. Even so, Texas added more than 75,000 jobs in November — more than any other state. The number of Texas employed last month was just shy of 13 million — an all-time high — and now has seen job gains in 18 of the past 19 months. Over the past year, nearly 700,000 jobs have been added statewide, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. About 28,000 more people are working in Texas now than just prior to the onset of the pandemic in spring 2020, federal data showed. Some of the state’s job growth this year has been fueled by a wave of workers moving to Texas from other states.