The unemployment rate for the Longview area jumped to 5.8 percent in January – the highest it has been for that month in five years, according to figures released Thursday by the Texas Workforce Commission.
The three-county metropolitan statistical area of Gregg, Rusk and Upshur counties had an estimated 6,300 people reported unemployed in January. That number jumped from 4,800 unemployed residents in the three counties in December when the Longview metro area had an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent.
The rate also was up substantially from January 2008 when TWC reported 4,400 people were unemployed with a three-county unemployment rate of 4.2 percent.
Workers at Longview-area businesses like Trinity Industries, Dana Corp. and U.S. Steel were hit hard by layoff notices in January as the impact of the global and national recessions deepened.
The Longview metro area still fared better than the state and nation as a whole in the unemployment picture, according to Texas Workforce officials. Texas had a January unemployment rate of 6.8 percent in January while nationally, the rate was 8.5 percent, representing more than 13 million people qualified as being unemployed.
Longview Partnership President Kelly Hall said the news is of concern to the group's members.
"Many of our companies are feeling the slowdown, and they are positioning their companies strategically to ride out the roller coaster ride we are on," Hall said. "Unfortunately, that means running leaner from an employee standpoint and cutting back on expenses."
Hall said on the flip side, Longview and East Texas are not being hit as hard as the East and West coasts.
"Beginning the first week of January, the Partnership staff has been contacting our chamber members on a daily basis," Hall said. "We have connected with over 50 percent of our members to date in order to gain a better understanding of what challenges they are dealing with from a regulation standpoint and what is happening within their specific industry."
The Longview area also had a lower unemployment rate than nearby Tyler where 6.9 percent of the workforce was off the job in January, according to state figures.
The Longview area unemployment rate in January jumped from 4.5 percent in December, the state reported. The one-month jump in the number of unemployed workers went from 4,800 in December to 6,300 in January, an increase of 1,500 people.
John Stroud, executive director of Longview Economic Development Corp., said about 500 of those jobs were in the retail trade area and represent seasonal changes from the Christmas shopping season.
Elsewhere in Texas, the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area had the state's highest unemployment rate in January at 10.1 percent. The Midland area, with a rate of 3.8 percent, was the lowest in Texas for January, according to the state.
"The national economic crisis is beginning to have a serious negative impact on our Texas economy," Tom Pauken, chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission, said in a prepared statement.
The three-county metropolitan statistical area of Gregg, Rusk and Upshur counties had an estimated 6,300 people reported unemployed in January. That number jumped from 4,800 unemployed residents in the three counties in December when the Longview metro area had an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent.
The rate also was up substantially from January 2008 when TWC reported 4,400 people were unemployed with a three-county unemployment rate of 4.2 percent.
Workers at Longview-area businesses like Trinity Industries, Dana Corp. and U.S. Steel were hit hard by layoff notices in January as the impact of the global and national recessions deepened.
The Longview metro area still fared better than the state and nation as a whole in the unemployment picture, according to Texas Workforce officials. Texas had a January unemployment rate of 6.8 percent in January while nationally, the rate was 8.5 percent, representing more than 13 million people qualified as being unemployed.
Longview Partnership President Kelly Hall said the news is of concern to the group's members.
"Many of our companies are feeling the slowdown, and they are positioning their companies strategically to ride out the roller coaster ride we are on," Hall said. "Unfortunately, that means running leaner from an employee standpoint and cutting back on expenses."
Hall said on the flip side, Longview and East Texas are not being hit as hard as the East and West coasts.
"Beginning the first week of January, the Partnership staff has been contacting our chamber members on a daily basis," Hall said. "We have connected with over 50 percent of our members to date in order to gain a better understanding of what challenges they are dealing with from a regulation standpoint and what is happening within their specific industry."
The Longview area also had a lower unemployment rate than nearby Tyler where 6.9 percent of the workforce was off the job in January, according to state figures.
The Longview area unemployment rate in January jumped from 4.5 percent in December, the state reported. The one-month jump in the number of unemployed workers went from 4,800 in December to 6,300 in January, an increase of 1,500 people.
John Stroud, executive director of Longview Economic Development Corp., said about 500 of those jobs were in the retail trade area and represent seasonal changes from the Christmas shopping season.
Elsewhere in Texas, the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area had the state's highest unemployment rate in January at 10.1 percent. The Midland area, with a rate of 3.8 percent, was the lowest in Texas for January, according to the state.
"The national economic crisis is beginning to have a serious negative impact on our Texas economy," Tom Pauken, chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission, said in a prepared statement.
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