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El Paso Economic Indicators

Economic Indicators

November 23, 2022

El Paso Economy Dashboard (October 2022)
Job growth (annualized)
Aug.–Oct.
Unemployment rate
Avg. hourly wages
Avg. hourly wage growth y/y
arrow_drop_down3.69% 4.4% arrow_drop_down$22.65 arrow_drop_up9.47%

El Paso payroll jobs grew moderately in October. Job postings and unemployment levels stabilized both locally and across the nation. Manufacturing activity remained strong as U.S. industrial production and auto sales edged up.

Labor market

Leisure and hospitality sees large employment gains

Payrolls rebounded in October after shrinking the previous month, rising by an annualized 0.4 percent (96 jobs) (Chart 1). The leisure and hospitality industry experienced massive gains, expanding 17.4 percent from September to October (518). Growth in construction and mining (84), manufacturing (112), and other services (73) was also strong. Meanwhile, professional and business services lost 338 jobs on net.

Chart 1

Year-to-date employment growth was stronger in Texas (4.7 percent) and the U.S. overall (3.3 percent) than El Paso (1.4 percent). El Paso’s financial activities sector experienced the greatest contraction (919 jobs).

Unemployment unchanged

El Paso’s unemployment held steady at 4.4 percent in October, unchanged from September (Chart 2). Statewide unemployment stabilized as well at 4.0 percent. In comparison, unemployment rose from 3.5 to 3.7 percent nationally.

Chart 2

Job postings

El Paso’s job postings have been on a downward trend since their peak in January 2022. They have stabilized in recent months and are up 48 percent from prepandemic levels as of Nov. 11 (Chart 3). This time last year, postings were up 52 percent compared with February 2020. Recent growth in job postings follows a similar trend as Texas (up 50.4 percent) and the U.S. (up 48.7 percent).

Chart 3

Industrial production and maquiladora-related activities

The U.S. industrial production (IP) index is up 3.3 percent from last year (as of October) but fell 0.1 percent month over month (Chart 4). The Mexican IP index rose 4.3 percent from last year (as of September) and dropped 0.2 percent from August. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index fell for the second consecutive month, dropping to 50.2. However, it remained above 50, which signals growth.

Chart 4

U.S. auto sales were up by 1.7 million units in October compared with last year and up 9.8 percent (nonannualized) from September. Production is up 1.9 million units from October 2021, a 3.8 percent increase from September. Industrial and auto activity are closely linked to the El Paso-area economy because of cross-border manufacturing relationships. Roughly half of maquiladoras in Juárez are auto related.

 

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 Aparna Jayashankar at Aparna.Jayashankar@dal.frb.org. El Paso Economic Indicators is published every month after state and metro employment data are released.