Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
08/26/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/26/2024 15:39
El Paso Economic Indicators
August 26, 2024
| El Paso economy dashboard (July 2024) | |||
|
Job growth (annualized) April-July '24 |
Unemployment rate |
Avg. hourly earnings |
Avg. hourly earnings growth y/y |
| 2.1% | 4.3% | $22.49 | -2.0% |
El Paso job growth picked up in July, and the unemployment rate fell. Housing permits ticked up, and trade volumes grew slightly. Maquiladora output in Mexico fell.
Labor market
Job growth increases
El Paso employment grew an annualized 3.9 percent (1,099 jobs) in July (Chart 1). The largest gains were in government (1,381 jobs) and information (83 jobs). Job losses were greatest in professional and business services (-253 jobs) and manufacturing (-183 jobs).
So far in 2024, total nonfarm employment expanded an annualized 1.3 percent (2,556 jobs). Government added the most jobs on net (2,506 jobs), followed by leisure and hospitality (763 jobs) and trade, transportation and utilities (460 jobs). The professional and business services sector contracted the most (-1,572 jobs) followed by manufacturing (-283 jobs). El Paso's job growth year to date in 2024 was below the state's 1.7 percent and the nation's 1.6 percent.
Unemployment rate ticks down
El Paso's unemployment rate moved down slightly to 4.3 percent in July (Chart 2). This was on par with the nation but higher than the state's rate of 4.1 percent.
Housing permits
New single-family permits for El Paso, after trending down in 2024, registered a 1.1 percent increase in June. However, the number was down 11.2 percent year over year. Meanwhile, Texas single-family housing permits decreased 1.6 percent in June but were still up 6.6 percent year over year.
Trade volumes
El Paso's economy is heavily dependent on international trade. In June, El Paso's trade volume totaled $151.7 billion annualized, up 15.2 percent from June 2023 (Chart 4). Exports grew 15.8 percent year over year, while imports grew 14.9 percent year over year. Trade primarily flowed through the ports of Ysleta (61 percent), Santa Teresa (20 percent) and El Paso (19 percent).
Manufacturing and maquiladora activity
The El Paso area economy is the nexus of many cross-border manufacturing relationships with maquiladoras in Mexico. In May, maquiladora output continued to fall, declining 2.4 percent year over year. At the same time, in May, the U.S. manufacturing index fell 0.2 percent year over year.
NOTE: Data may not match previously published numbers due to revisions. The El Paso metropolitan statistical area includes El Paso and Hudspeth counties.
About El Paso Economic Indicators
Questions or suggestions can be addressed to Isabel Dhillon at [email protected]. El Paso Economic Indicators is published every month after state and metro employment data are released.