Hundreds of job seekers gathered in Brownsville on Thursday hoping to match with an open job in the Rio Grande Valley as dozens of employers sought to connect over 10,000 open roles at a Coffee and Careers event.
Marine industry businesses, healthcare companies, general contractors and rocket launching company SpaceX mingled with potential employees. There were also temp agencies, law enforcement departments, municipal entities and local education providers offering opportunities.
In September 2026, Hidalgo County had an unemployment rate of 5.6%, with 22,913 unemployed residents in a labor force of 407,230. Cameron County’s rate was 5.9%, with 11,134 unemployed in a labor force of 188,588. Starr County had the highest rate in the region at 8.3%, with 2,096 unemployed in a labor force of 25,335. Willacy County’s rate was 6.0%, with 516 unemployed in a labor force of 8,617.
Waiting in line for one local hospital that’s been expanding in the community was Carlos Perez, a professional with more than two decades of experience.
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Kristen Mosbrucker-Garza
Reporter
Kristen Mosbrucker-Garza is a versatile multimedia news reporter who lives and works along the Texas-Mexico border in Hidalgo County. Mosbrucker-Garza is a news reporter for the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal. During her career she's worked for the McAllen Monitor, San Antonio Business Journal, The Advocate Newspaper in Louisiana, Phoenix New Times, and public media outlets in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
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