This commentary/report was submitted by Rachel Castellanos.
What are the true unemployment numbers? Everyone has seen the headlines saying the unemployment rate is only 4.3%. If you watch the local news and believe the numbers coming from the White House this seems to be the truth; however there is a lot more to the story. The actual US unemployment rate is much higher, standing at 24.1% according to Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity. What about the Texas unemployment rate? Here is what I have been able to track down from LISEP. These numbers are from 2024, and they are steadily increasing due to mass layoffs, outsourcing, and work visas.
- Dallas/Fort Worth area 22%
- Wichita Falls 30.8%
- San Antonio 26.5%
- McAllen 45.9%
- Austin 29.2%
What is happening to all the jobs?
The White House says “It’s raining jobs,” but when you see these numbers you might think otherwise. The number of people in Texas this year that were laid off is 42,929. Nationwide the total number of layoffs is 455,414+ people. That’s 2,846+ people per day. A vast majority of the jobs in Texas are not going to local Texans or even Americans. Did you know that 9 out of 10 jobs in America are going to foreigners? In Texas alone 43,868 applications have been filed to hire H1B workers.
This photo is a comparison of native born people employed versus foreign born people.
Reference: guestworkvisas.com
Heartbreaking Stories of the Unemployed
The following testimonials are from a couple people in different areas of the US. This is the truth about what is really going on in our job market.
“My finances are depleted, I had to cash out my 401K with a 30% early withdrawal penalty, I had to sell my car, personal belongings of value, I got evicted, living in a shelter.”
“I had to sell my dream custom home in Sunnyvale, California — in the middle of Silicon Valley — my home town. Two of three people are foreign born in Santa Clara Valley. Nine of 10 new jobs went to foreigners since 2017. The highest concentration of H1B workers is in Santa Clara California.”
“Over 3000 job applications, all which I meet published qualifications, received 18 initial scans. Only 2 positions of the 3000 I have applied kept me in the interview process and still no offer.”
Change Can Happen
Given all these facts it might seem hopeless. Things can change, but it will take time and people working together. If you are unemployed don’t give up, just look for new ways to apply other than throwing applications into a black hole. There is strength in numbers, so get out there and make some new connections, build a network of people who are working in your corner. This doesn’t necessarily have to be traditional networking; find people who share your interests and goals. Let people know what your skills are and what you bring to the table.
A few things come to mind that employers could do to make a big impact:
- Hire American born workers
- Eliminate some work visa positions to free up jobs for Americans
- Make true entry level positions and base them on skills, not degrees
- Bring back 1 job for 1 person, instead of having 1 person do 20 different jobs
- Hire based on skills, not degrees
In conclusion true change will not happen overnight, but we have to start somewhere. We can all do something to make an impact. It’s time for us to unite!!