Hopkins County continued to have the lowest unemployment rate in the area, 1.8 percent lower than the state average and 1.6 lower than the average for the Northeast Texas workforce area, according to the Texas Labor Market Information and Texas Workforce Commission. While the unemployment rate fell from 5.8 in November 2020 to back to the 5.3 percent of October 2020, the December 2020 unemployment rate was still nearly twice the 2.8 percent posted in December 2019 (the second lowest monthly unemployment rate in the last 3 years, only 0.1 percent more than in April and May 2019).
The December 2020 unemployment rate for Hopkins County was still 3 percent lower than in April, the worst unemployment rate the last 3 years due to so many businesses having to close or significantly reduce staffing due to COVID-19.
Unemployment the first two months of 2020 was steady at 3.2 percent. In March, as the pandemic began spreading in Hopkins County, unemployment rose to 4.5 percent. After climbing to 8.4 percent in April, it fell for four straight months, dropping to 7.8 percent in May, 5.7 percent in June, 5.4 percent in July and 4.6 percent in August. Unemployment rose again in September to 5.7, fell to 4.7 in October, spiked again to 5.8 in November and 5.3 in December. Overall, the annual unemployment rate was 5.4 percent.
Around the area, Delta County was a close second to Hopkins County for lowest with an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent in December 2020, down from 6.3 percent in November 2020 but still 2.1 percent higher than in December 2019.
Next was the 6.3 percent unemployment rate experienced in December 2020, down from 6.8 percent in November 2020 but still 3.1 percent higher than in December 2019.
Bowie and Lamar County each had a December 2020 unemployment rate of 6.5 percent, a 0.8 percent decline from November 2020 for Bowie County and a 0.4 percent decline for Lamar County. The December 2020 unemployment rate is still 2.7 percent higher than Bowie County’s December 2019 unemployment rate and 3.4 percent higher than Lamar County’s December 2019 unemployment rate.
Titus County has a 7 percent unemployment rate in December 2020, still 3.1 percent higher than in December 2019, but 0.5 percent lower than in November 2019.
Red River’s unemployment rate was 7.1 percent, down from 7.5 percent, but still 2.7 percent higher than in December of 2019.
Cass County’s unemployment rate was 8.6, down from 9.4 percent in November 2020 but still 4.6 percent higher than in December 2019.
Morris County’s 13.5 percent unemployment rate was the worst in the nine-county region, down from 14.8 percent in November 2020 but still 8.1 percent higher than in December 2019
