Until now, the state’s worst-ever monthly unemployment rate was 9.2% in November 1986, as Texas reeled from the last big oil bust. A combination of the coronavirus pandemic and a contracting energy industry are expected to slow Texas’ economic recovery.
Economy
Get the latest on jobs, business, growth, and policy shaping the state’s economy with in-depth reporting from The Texas Tribune.
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Coronavirus in Texas
They lost their jobs and insurance in the pandemic. Now they’re slipping through Texas’ health care safety net.
Texas had the highest uninsured rate of any state before the outbreak. It’s also among a minority of states that have declined to expand Medicaid coverage to people with incomes near or below the poverty line.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas families filing for SNAP food assistance almost doubled in April
Texas received a staggering 417,468 applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program last month, a sharp increase from March’s already high number of requests.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott lifts coronavirus restrictions for travelers from New York, Georgia and other hot spots
Travelers coming to Texas from select major states and cities previously had to undergo a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas businesses returning during coronavirus are unlikely to spur fast economic recovery
As workers and customers reemerge into a society still grappling with a spreading coronavirus, the power Gov. Greg Abbott and officials across the globe used to close businesses in the first place does not extend to reviving the economy.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Coronavirus in Texas: Texans still able to refuse work and receive unemployment benefits if they lack child care
Our staff is closely tracking developments on the new coronavirus in Texas. Check here for live updates.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas doctors say their revenue has dropped by at least 50% since the pandemic, survey data shows
Pandemic-related financial strain has hit independent medical practices especially hard, the survey showed. Many physicians have resorted to taking pay cuts or working fewer hours.
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TribCast
TribCast: Bars are back, but questions remain on child care and voting by mail in a pandemic
In this week’s TribCast, Alexa talks to Matthew, Aliyya and Ross about the latest reopenings in Texas amid missed benchmarks, child care complications for low-income parents and swirling voting-by-mail questions.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott instructs state agencies to trim budgets by 5% to prepare for “economic shock”
Some state agencies are exempt from the cuts, including the Department of State Health Services, the Texas Workforce Commission and the Department of Public Safety.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Former Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt says Abbott’s actions to reopen Texas are divisive, scary and confusing
Abbott’s recent decisions to reopen the economy despite rising infection rates signal that something has “spooked” the governor, Eckhardt said at a Tribune event.
