Comment on Oil industry status, not unemployment rate, drives growth in Amarillo

A low unemployment rate can signify economic progress in a region, but Amarillo’s has shown infinitesimal signs of growth in recent years, slowed by the oil and gas industry’s depression. Amarillo’s state-low unemployment rate has dropped back down after a slight rise in September, according to preliminary data from the United States Census Bureau. Unemployment in the Amarillo metro area grew from 3.2 percent in September 2015 to 3.5 percent in September 2016, but retreated to 3.2 percent in October as about 450 residents found jobs within the month. read more