The coronavirus pandemic swiftly swept Texas into an economic recession, upending several industries and prompting millions to seek unemployment aid. Here’s a look at how the state was impacted between March 2020 and May 2021.
Anna Novak
Anna Novak was a 2020-21 data visuals fellow. A 2019 graduate of Middlebury College, Anna majored in geography and minored in computer science. She has worked as a fellow at Azavea, a GIS lab teaching and research assistant at Middlebury, and a GIS intern at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She’s also CPR and wilderness first responder certified.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas’ unemployment rate has fallen by nearly half since the record high in April 2020
The coronavirus pandemic swiftly swept Texas into an economic recession, prompting millions to seek unemployment aid and complicating the state budget. Here’s a look at how the recovery is going.
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Texas 2020 Elections
In Texas, Biden’s urban wins couldn’t offset Trump’s millions of votes in rural, red counties
In order to turn the tide in 2020, Biden needed to take advantage of population growth in the state’s biggest cities and political shifts in the suburbs to erase Trump’s massive advantages in rural areas of the state.
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Texas 2020 Elections
Joe Biden’s struggles along the Texas border raise questions about Democrats’ outreach there
Democrats once again won a large number of counties along or near the Texas-Mexico border, but by narrower margins than in recent elections. That showing played a big role in disappointing results for the state’s Democrats.
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Coronavirus in Texas
As Texas college towns emerge as coronavirus hot spots, universities try to keep students from infecting locals
In counties where four-year college students make up at least 10% of the population, cases have grown 34% since Aug. 19, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. That’s compared with 23% in counties with a smaller proportion of students.
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Demographics
Texas’ Hispanic population grew by 2 million in the past decade, on pace to be largest share of state by 2021
New U.S. census estimates show the gap between Hispanic and white populations in the state continues to narrow, and Hispanics are projected to become the largest population group a year earlier than previously expected.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas attributes record-high coronavirus cases to bars, beaches and a data backlog in Harris County
More than 4,400 positive cases were reported Saturday. The state also set its ninth consecutive record for hospitalizations, but officials say hospital capacity isn’t a concern.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Business has reopened in Texas, but the economy won’t be back anytime soon, experts say
The Texas energy sector has helped insulate the state’s economy during national downturns. This time, experts say the industry could hold the economy back.
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Coronavirus in Texas
More Texans filed for unemployment in the last 4 weeks than all of 2019
The numbers are early — but incomplete — indicators of how dramatically and suddenly the state’s economy has collapsed under social distancing orders officials issued to curb the still growing public health crisis spurred by the novel coronavirus.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas hospitals don’t have enough beds for coronavirus patients if too many people get sick at once
Texas has about 2.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people — less than one-fourth the rate of South Korea.