Note: Share of the U.S. labor force that is functionally unemployed (seeking but unable to find a full-time job, is unemployed or is employed in a position earning less than a living wage); Data: Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity; Chart: Axios Visuals
The Dallas area was among the major U.S. metros with the lowest rates of true unemployment last year.
Why it matters: Strong labor markets signify a healthy economy.
- Boom towns like Denver, Nashville and Dallas are seeing very low levels of unemployment — in stark contrast to areas such as El Paso and New Orleans with large numbers of low-wage jobs, according to the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity .
How it works: The institute looked at the true rate of unemployment instead of the official rate of unemployment, which tends to be significantly lower than the true rate.
- The official unemployment rate excludes people earning only a few dollars a week and people who stopped looking for work for reasons like a lack of jobs or the demands of child care.
- The true rate of unemployment tracks the percentage of the labor force that doesn't have a full-time job but wants one, has no job, or doesn't earn a living wage.
Zoom in: The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro had a true unemployment rate of almost 20% in 2023. That's significantly better than the Austin (24%), Houston (24%) and San Antonio (27%) metros.
Yes, but: 45% of the Dallas metro's population 16 and older was unable to find full-time work with a living wage, which the Ludwig Institute has "conservatively" pegged at $25,000 annually before taxes.
Zoom out: The Laredo and McAllen areas had the country's highest true unemployment rates last year, close to 50%, per the Ludwig Institute.
- Bend, Ore., had the lowest true unemployment rate among all of the U.S. metros tracked by the institute.
- The institute says the Denver area was the country's best region for living-wage jobs.
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