EDINBURG, RGV – Edinburg had the lowest unemployment rate of all the major cities in the Rio Grande Valley for the month of April 2017 – 5.4 percent.
Edinburg and McAllen usually vie for the lowest rate. In April, McAllen’s unemployment rate was 5.5 percent.
“Mission accomplished, I applaud our investor/business community for improving opportunities to our Edinburg families. They are the real winners. We told you we were on our way at State of the City,” Edinburg Mayor Richard Garcia told the Rio Grande Guardian, upon hearing the latest unemployment figures.
Edinburg and McAllen were the only large Valley cities with unemployment rates under six percent in April 2017, according to preliminary data released by the Texas Workforce Commission. Here is the list:
Edinburg: 5.4 percent
McAllen: 5.5 percent
Harlingen: 6.9 percent
Mission: 7.2 percent
Weslaco: 7.8 percent
Brownsville: 7.9 percent
Pharr: 8.6 percent
The employment figures for the seven largest cities in the Valley were:
Brownsville: 70,693
McAllen: 61,460
Edinburg: 36,909
Mission: 31,760
Pharr: 27,719
Harlingen: 23,350
Weslaco: 14,219
Mayor Garcia, who chairs the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, pointed out that his city saw a growth of 415 jobs when comparing the monthly totals of April 2017 (36,909) to April 2016 (36,494).
The state’s unemployment rate in April 2017 was 4.5 percent, compared with 4.3 percent in April 2016.
