Texas unemployment rate hits worst on record at 12.8%

Until now, the state's worst-ever monthly unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in November 1986, as Texas reeled from the last big oil bust. A combination of the coronavirus pandemic and a contracting energy industry are expected to slow Texas's economic recovery. The crisis “has shone a blinding light on our state's geographic, economic and social systems, revealing their vulnerabilities so clearly that their existence can no longer be debated or denied," read a recent report titled "A Playbook for Resiliency: Creating Opportunity for all Texans," written by Urban Lab Director Steven Pedigo and Hobby School of Public Affairs Founding Dean Kirk Watson.