Texarkana unemployment climbs as Texas job growth outpaces it.
4.7%
Texarkana unemployment rate
Up from 4.4% a year ago; 4.5% prior month
1.1%
Texas annual job growth
Outpaces national growth by 0.7 points
0.5%
Bowie County employment growth
Four-quarter average through Q3 2025
3.0% wages vs 3.4% inflation
National real wage growth
Weakest real-wage gap since May 2021
This Month's Takeaways
01
Metro unemployment rise doesn't match statewide momentum.
Texarkana's 4.7% unemployment rate, up from 4.4% a year ago, runs counter to Texas's broader 1.1% annual job growth and sub-4% statewide rates in several peer metros. The gap suggests local conditions are more sensitive to sector-specific softness than to the state's overall trajectory.
02
Manufacturing pay decline signals real local sector pressure.
Metro manufacturing production worker pay fell significantly even as Texas manufacturing wages rose 4.8% statewide — one of the sharpest state-metro divergences this month. This is consistent with Bowie County's otherwise modest 0.5% employment growth masking contraction in specific industrial segments.
03
Skilled trades and office roles show the metro's healthier side.
HVAC technician and administrative assistant advertised pay both rose significantly locally, outperforming comparatively flat national trends in the same roles. That pattern is consistent with steady demand in construction-adjacent and administrative functions even as broader metro unemployment ticks up.
04
National wage-inflation gap now reaches the local pay picture.
National annual wage growth slowed to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation — the weakest real-wage position since 2021 — while several Texarkana roles (cashier, delivery driver, food service, teacher) show outright pay declines. Local purchasing power pressure in lower-wage service work appears to compound, not offset, the national trend.
Local Economic Conditions
Texarkana's unemployment rate climbed to 4.7% in the most recent reading, up from 4.4% a year earlier, even as Bowie County employment edged up 0.5% year-over-year — a divergence that suggests softening in some corners of the metro economy alongside modest underlying growth. Statewide, construction and professional/business services continue adding jobs at a pace outstripping the nation, but Texarkana's own advertised-pay data shows sharp declines in manufacturing production work and electrician pay, pointing to uneven momentum across the local sector mix rather than a uniform expansion.
Open Threads in the Data
Divergence between a rising local unemployment rate and steady-to-positive advertised pay in office, technical, and skilled-trade roles (administrative assistants up significantly, HVAC technicians up significantly) suggests labor market softening is concentrated in production and lower-wage service work rather than broad-based. For commerce leaders assessing the climate for local investment or expansion, this points to a bifurcated local economy — resilient in professional and skilled-trade segments, weaker in manufacturing and retail-adjacent work — rather than a uniform downturn or upswing. Current conditions suggest monitoring sector-specific indicators rather than the headline unemployment rate alone when assessing whether this is a favorable window for local capital commitments.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR MSA metro — median advertised pay, its recent trend, and the number of active postings behind each figure. Jobs are grouped for readability and are not the same as the 10 sector classifications on the next page. For additional job detail contact WageScape.
Retail Trade
| Retail Sales Associate |
$26,267 |
→ Stable |
535 |
| Retail Cashier |
$24,468 |
↓ Moderate decline |
363 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$35,214 |
→ Stable |
79 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$81,900 |
→ Stable |
880 |
| Delivery Driver |
$35,485 |
↓ Moderate decline |
297 |
| Warehouse Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$33,438 |
↑ Significant increase |
13 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$71,345 |
↓ Significant decline |
67 |
| HVAC Technician |
$69,087 |
↑ Significant increase |
5,969 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$21,840 |
↓ Significant decline |
42 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$31,949 |
→ Stable |
54 |
| Operations Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$29,685 |
↓ Moderate decline |
4,305 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$33,280 |
→ Stable |
313 |
| Registered Nurse |
$85,782 |
→ Stable |
1,149 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$39,297 |
↑ Significant increase |
79 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$152,465 |
↑ Moderate increase |
75,144 |
| Data Engineer |
$136,140 |
↑ Moderate increase |
29,902 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$62,669 |
↑ Moderate increase |
95 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$72,500 |
↑ Significant increase |
7,980 |
| Marketing Specialist |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
| Business Analyst |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$79,467 |
→ Stable |
11 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$48,909 |
↓ Significant decline |
537 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$86,281 |
↑ Significant increase |
15 |
Industry Snapshot · Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR MSA
Advertised pay and job-posting trends across the whole metro economy, rolled up by employer industry — not just the bellwether roles above.
| Sector |
Median Pay Change |
Job Postings Change |
| Construction |
↓ −43.6% |
↑ +92.9% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +45.2% |
↑ +134.5% |
| Retail Trade |
→ +0.9% |
↑ +74.0% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↑ +57.9% |
↑ +50.9% |
| Information |
↑ +7.8% |
↑ +13.0% |
| Financial Activities |
↓ −7.2% |
↑ +98.3% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↓ −8.1% |
↑ +7.8% |
| Education & Health Services |
→ −1.6% |
↑ +28.9% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
↓ −15.9% |
↑ +42.2% |
| Government |
↑ +94.4% |
↑ +1146.5% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Worth watching
Texarkana's unemployment rate has risen three consecutive readings (4.4% to 4.5% to 4.7%). Whether the next BLS release confirms a trend or reflects seasonal noise will matter for how commerce leaders read the metro's trajectory relative to the state's stronger headline numbers.
Emerging pressure point
Statewide manufacturing WARN activity (47 notices, 7,811 workers year-to-date) and transportation/logistics layoffs (69 notices, 8,055 workers) are the two largest categories in Texas. Given Texarkana's industrial and logistics corridor positioning, any uptick in regional filings would be an early read on whether state-level softness is reaching the metro.
Policy-relevant factor
Tariff policy and immigration enforcement activity continue to be cited nationally as factors shaping manufacturing and logistics labor costs and availability. Texarkana's reliance on freight and manufacturing employment makes it a useful bellwether for whether these federal-level dynamics show up in local sector data — a bare-facts watch item, not a directional call.
Potential inflection point
National payroll growth slowed sharply to 29,000 in September with downward revisions to July and August, while Texas continues outpacing the nation. Whether Texarkana tracks the state's relative resilience or the national cooling trend over the next two reporting cycles will clarify which narrative actually applies locally.
Sources & Methodology
Pay and hiring data provided by WageScape. See every source cited in this report, with links →
Advertised pay reflects the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro, not survey or payroll data. Pay trends compare the current period with the prior period for the same metro and role. Sector figures group postings by the employer's industry classification; sectors with limited classified postings are marked as such rather than estimated. This briefing is independent of, and complements, official statistics from the BLS and state labor market information offices.
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