National unemployment rate falls in June, here's what that means for Texans
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Despite rising COVID-19 cases and business closures, experts believe the economy will continue to rebound.
A historic June jobs report released Thursday, had politicians in Washington buzzing.
"Today's announcement means our economy is roaring back," President Donald Trump said. "It's coming back extremely strong."
The nationwide unemployment rate has dropped by nearly four percent since April. In June, it fell lower than experts anticipated to 11.1 percent.
Still, University of Houston Economics Professor, Steven Craig, said there's a long ways to go.
"Relatively speaking, it says we're getting better," Craig explained. "That's really different than 'We're doing well.'"
Craig said while 4.8 million jobs were created, nearly 600,000 lost permanent jobs last month.
"That suggests that it's not just recovery, it's repair and recovery," Craig explained.
Teens, Hispanics, and adult women saw the largest unemployment rate drop in June. Certain industries are driving the recovery.
Hospitality and leisure added more than two million positions, retail added 740,000, and education and health services created around 570,000 jobs.
Mining, which includes oil and gas, lost 10,000 jobs last month.
We don't have Houston numbers yet, but experts said the struggling oil industry will keep Houston behind the rest of the country.
Experts thought it would take until the end of the year to reach single digit unemployment, but that could happen in July.
Despite rising coronavirus cases, and Texas closing parts of the economy, Craig believes numbers will continue to move in the right direction.
Jobs are still available in the Houston area. On Thursday, ABC 13 hosted a virtual job fair with Workforce Solutions.
"These are definitely positions where you can get to work very quickly," Workforce Solutions spokesperson Michelle Castrow said. "Within the next week or two, you could be earning a paycheck."
