Rural Capital Area Unemployment Rate Rises to 3.7% in March Amid COVID-19 Concerns
Apr 17, 2020
Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area
CEDAR PARK, Texas ⎯ The unadjusted unemployment rate in the Rural Capital Area of central Texas rose to 3.7 percent in March 2020 amid novel coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, up from 2.8 percent in February, according to figures released today by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The 3.7 percent unemployment rate in the nine-county Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area (WSRCA), represented 20,814 residents seeking employment. The region’s unemployment rate remained below both the Texas (4.7 percent)* and national (4.5 percent)* rates.
Within the WSRCA counties, Blanco recorded the lowest unemployment rate at 3.1 percent in March. Burnet and Hays counties were at 3.6 percent. Fayette and Williamson counties were at 3.7 percent. Bastrop and Lee counties were at 3.9 percent, while Caldwell County was at 4.3 percent, and Llano County was at 4.6 percent.
As Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster in Texas due to COVID-19, and our communities continue to feel the increased impact of its global effects, the WSRCA team has mobilized to ensure the health and safety of customers and staff, while ensuring that our business services, early childhood development programs and workforce services, continue throughout our Rural Capital Area communities.
“Our hearts are with all of those who have been affected,” said WSRCA CEO Paul Fletcher. “We recognize that circumstances of this nature are concerning, and we would like to reassure our fellow Texans that WSRCA is here to serve our communities in the best possible way.”
The WSRCA team is committed to meeting the needs of job seekers, essential workers and employers in our nine-county region, and we want to ensure that the health and safety of our customers and staff are taken into consideration in these difficult times. Although our career centers are temporarily closed to the public, our talented teams will continue to ensure that our customers find world-class workforce solutions through our available services online and by phone. Please visit our website at www.workforcesolutionsrca.com, login in to www.workintexas.com, or call us toll free, at 1-844-344-2780.
As local employers within our nine-county region contact us with job openings they need to fill immediately, we are posting them to the Jobs Now! section of our website by county, to connect job seekers to these opportunities.
For our business community, we have set up the email address, rapidresponse@ruralcapital.net, to connect employers with a Rapid Response specialist, for assistance with customized proactive outplacement services or layoff aversion strategies at no cost. Our Rapid Response services are tailored to each company, based on the needs of the affected employees.
Employment estimates released by TWC are produced in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. All estimates are subject to revision. To access this and more employment data, visit texaslmi.com.
Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area is a nonprofit community partnership providing no cost recruitment, employment services and childcare assistance, to businesses, employers and job seekers in the Rural Capital Area of central Texas. This nine-county region includes Bastrop; Blanco; Burnet; Caldwell; Fayette; Hays; Lee; Llano; and Williamson counties. For more details on WSRCA, and the services it offers, visit www.workforcesolutionsrca.com.
*All unemployment rates listed are not seasonally adjusted.
