Sluggish job growth across the Rio Grande Valley continues through June, data shows

The mid-year jobs report for the Rio Grande Valley shows a slower-than-average economic expansion, according to recent data from the Texas Workforce Commission that is based on Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates. 

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area added 5,500 jobs over the year through June, an increase of 1.8% for a total of 309,700 non-farm jobs. 

The information sector, which includes tech jobs such as computer programming and information technology support, lost the largest percentage over the year — down 2.8% to 3,500 jobs in June 2026. 

Those losses were offset by gains in private education and health services, which grew by 4.3% over the year to 97,800 jobs. 

Trade, transportation, and utilities in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area have mostly grown over the past decade too, from 54,500 jobs in June 2016 to 57,600 jobs in June 2026. 

Between 2025 and 2026, the McAllen metro added 700 jobs in the trade, transportation, and utilities sector. 

The retail trade sector in the McAllen metro has mostly grown over the past decade, with some variability from 37,600 jobs in June 2016 to 38,600 jobs in June 2026. 

The McAllen metro saw sizable growth in the leisure and hospitality sector too, from 24,500 jobs in June 2016 to 32,300 jobs in June 2026. It also saw its private education and health services sector steadily expand at a noticeable clip over the past decade, from 67,400 jobs in June 2016 to 97,800 jobs in June 2026. 

The McAllen metro’s local government sector remained steady, including public school teachers, starting with 46,900 jobs in June 2016 and ending with 46,300 jobs in June 2026. 

The Brownsville-Harlingen metro added 900 jobs over the year through June, an expansion of less than 1% over the year. 

It’s unclear whether the most recent jobs data, which rely on mid-month federal surveys, accurately reflect the jobs market in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area or not. 

For example, there was a big decline in the information sector, aka tech jobs, down 6.7% over the year through June 2026, but that’s a pretty small employment pool with about 1,400 workers. But then there was an expansion of 14.3% over the year in federal government jobs to 3,200. 

Since Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is a federal contractor, it was not immediately clear whether the data for SpaceX jobs is reflected in the federal government or any other industry sector, such as professional and business services jobs, which also grew by 4.1% over the year to 17,900 jobs. 

Mining, logging, and construction jobs also fell over the year in the Brownsville metro, down 5.1% to 3,700 jobs. 

There has also been a steady expansion at the natural gas liquefaction export terminals, or LNG plants, in the Brownsville area, which is actively under construction with thousands of workers on site each day. 

Manufacturing jobs in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area were down for the fourth consecutive year, from a peak of 7,500 jobs in June 2023 to 6,300 in June 2026. 

Private education and health services jobs in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro saw steady growth over the past decade, from 38,500 jobs in June 2016 to 46,500 in June 2026, with a peak of 49,200 jobs in June 2024. 

The private education and health services sector stagnated between 2025 and 2026 at 46,500 jobs, data shows. 

Mining, logging and construction followed a similar trend, with 3000 jobs in June 2016 and 3,700 jobs by June 2026, with a peak of 4,200 jobs in June 2024. 

There was a steady increase in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro’s leisure and hospitality job sector, from 15,800 jobs in June 2016 to 20,500 jobs in June 2026 — the 10-year peak, with a lull in June 2020 to 15,000 jobs. 

Local government jobs, which include public school teachers, fell in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro from 23,900 jobs in June 2016 to 21,800 jobs in June 2026. There was also stagnation between 2025 and 2026. 

In early 2026, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas projected that the Texas economy at large would have weak job growth and economic expansion over the year, and on the jobs front, so far, that’s been playing out as reality.