Rio Grande Valley job growth slows to a trickle through July

The most recent jobs report for the Rio Grande Valley shows sluggish growth through July, according to data from the Texas Workforce Commission based on Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates. 

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area added 4,800 jobs over the year through July, an increase of 1.58% for a total of 308,500 non-farm jobs. 

The information sector, which includes tech jobs such as computer programming and information technology support, as well as telecom providers, lost the largest percentage over the year — down 5.56% to 3,400 jobs in July 2026 in the McAllen metro. 

Those losses were offset by gains in private education and health services, which grew by 3.45% over the year to 98,900 jobs. Private education includes charter school employees, including teachers. 

The trade, transportation, and utilities sector also gained 1.05% to 57,600 jobs in the McAllen metro. 

Leisure and hospitality grew by 3.54% to 32,200 jobs, a sector that’s been steadily increasing with the expansion of entertainment venues, coffee shops, and retail stores across the McAllen metro. 

Local government jobs accounted for 44,100 jobs in the McAllen metro, down 1.5% over the year. Public school teachers and associated staff are considered local government workers. 

Financial activities, including financial services and insurance jobs and real estate and rental leasing jobs, fell 1.96% to 10,000 workers in the McAllen metro. 

State government jobs in the McAllen metro increased by 3.5% over the year to 8,700 jobs. Professional and business services were up 1.66% to 24,500 jobs. 

Both federal government and manufacturing jobs were flat. Mining, logging and construction were up 1% over the year to 9,800 jobs in the McAllen metro. 

The Brownsville-Harlingen metro expanded by less than 1% over the year, adding only 100 jobs overall. 

It’s still 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. 

The big question mark is whether the jobs promised by Space Exploration Technologies Corp., a federal contractor, are accurately reflected in the survey estimates. 

For example, the federal government sector does not include military contractors, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics considers private-sector jobs. Active-duty military personnel are also not included in civilian nonfarm jobs data. 

Federal government jobs in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area increased by 14.29%. This dataset didn’t provide much granularity. This could include anyone from law enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or any other federal agency working in Cameron County. 

The information sector was down 6.67% through July to 1,400 workers, a very small slice of the overall job market but a notable decline. 

The second-largest gains in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro were in state government jobs, which increased by 3.45% over the year to 3,000 jobs. Professional and business services grew by 3.43% to 18,100 workers. 

Manufacturing in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro was flat through July. 

Mining, logging, and construction jobs also fell over the year in the Brownsville metro, down 5.26% to 3,600 jobs. 

Trade, transportation, and utilities in the Brownsville metro were down 1.14% to 26,000 jobs. 

Private education and health services jobs in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro were down less than 1% over the year to 46,900 jobs — that’s one of the first declines in that sector since COVID-19 began, but the sector is still bigger than it was a decade ago, just not growing anymore. 

The Brownsville-Harlingen metro’s leisure and hospitality job sector grew 2.5% to 20,500 jobs through July. 

Local government jobs, which include public school teachers, fell in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro by 3.72% to 20,700 jobs. 

While the Rio Grande Valley saw rapid job growth and economic expansion over the past decade, there is still a pipeline of construction happening, from retail to commercial and industrial, but the rapid gains have slowed to a trickle. 

Key industries along the Texas-Mexico border have faced major disruption as a large population of individuals has struggled with new visa restrictions or even work permit cancellations over the past year. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the Valley have also disrupted the construction industry, which businesses say may have trickled down to other industries, but it’s still unclear exactly how that will affect the job market. 

President Donald Trump’s administration’s tariff policies and renegotiation of the USMCA, or trade policy with Mexico, have also created significant uncertainty for the trade sector along the border — though the trade sector has not significantly dropped, just a slight decline in the Brownsville metro and a slight gain in the McAllen metro.