South region · state data

Texas unemployment rate and jobs

Texas's unemployment rate was 4.4% in Sep 2026, 0.2 percentage points above the U.S. rate of 4.2%. That was up from 4.3% a year earlier.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Current Employment Statistics) via FRED®. Monthly data, seasonally adjusted. Latest observation Sep 2026; snapshot taken Oct 27, 2026, 2:15 AM EDT.

Unemployment rate (Sep 2026)

4.4%

U.S. rate, same month

4.2%

Difference from U.S.

+0.2 pt

A year earlier

4.3%

Rank (1 = lowest rate)

37th of 51

Nonfarm jobs (Sep 2026)

14.46 million

Job growth, 12 months

+1.1%

Record low rate

3.4% (Jun 2019)

Unemployment rate: Texas vs. the U.S.

4.4% Sep 2026 · Percent

Texas unemployment rate U.S. unemployment rate

Percent of the labor force, seasonally adjusted. Texas data from Jan 1976 to Sep 2026; the dashed line is the national rate (UNRATE).

How Texas compares

In Sep 2026, Texas had the 14th highest rate of the 51 states and DC (tied with Florida). Across the 16 states and DC in the South region, the simple average was 4.0%, so Texas was 0.4 points above it.

Since the state series began in 1976, Texas's rate has ranged from a low of 3.4% in Jun 2019 to a high of 12.8% in Apr 2020. Just before the pandemic, in February 2020, it was 3.6%, 0.8 points lower than now. Over the last 12 months the rate averaged 4.3% and was above the national rate in 4 of them.

Jobs in Texas

Employers in Texas reported 14.46 million nonfarm payroll jobs in Sep 2026, seasonally adjusted. That is 154,300 more than a year earlier (+1.1%), compared with +0.3% for the nation as a whole. Its 12-month job growth rate ranked 9th of 51. The record high was 14.47 million in Aug 2026. Compared with February 2020, payrolls are up 11.6%.

14,461.3K Sep 2026 · Thousands of persons

Total nonfarm payroll jobs, thousands, seasonally adjusted, from the BLS survey of employers. Data from Jan 1990.

Last 12 months in Texas
Month	Unemployment rate	U.S. rate	Nonfarm jobs	Monthly job change
Sep 2026	4.4%	4.2%	14.46 million	-11,100
Aug 2026	4.4%	4.1%	14.47 million	+8,700
Jul 2026	4.5%	4.1%	14.46 million	-2,700
Jun 2026	4.4%	4.2%	14.47 million	+40,200
May 2026	4.3%	4.3%	14.43 million	+24,800
Apr 2026	4.3%	4.3%	14.40 million	+7,400
Mar 2026	4.3%	4.3%	14.39 million	+37,300
Feb 2026	4.3%	4.4%	14.36 million	-6,400
Jan 2026	4.3%	4.3%	14.36 million	+23,700
Dec 2025	4.3%	4.4%	14.34 million	+32,900
Nov 2025	4.3%	4.5%	14.31 million	-500
Sep 2025	4.3%	4.4%	14.31 million	-2,900

Record high unemployment rate: 12.8% (Apr 2020). Monthly figures are revised each year when BLS benchmarks the state data.

States with similar unemployment rates

New York · 4.3%Florida · 4.4%Minnesota · 4.5%Delaware · 4.6%

Other South states

Alabama Arkansas Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Mississippi North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Virginia West Virginia All 50 states and DC U.S. unemployment rate

This page shows public labor market data for general information. It is not financial or career advice and does not predict future values.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Unemployment Rate in Texas [TXUR], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TXUR, Oct 27, 2026.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, All Employees: Total Nonfarm in Texas [TXNA], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TXNA, Oct 27, 2026.
View TXUR on FRED® · View TXNA on FRED® · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · BLS State and Metro Area Employment

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