McAllen- The City ofMcAllen continues to be an economic leader in the Rio Grande Valley, posting a significantly lower unemployment rate versus other cities in the region for the month of August and for the second month in a row. McAllen’s unemployment rate was at 5.5 percent, still the lowest of all major cities in the Rio Grande Valley, despite a slight uptick of .3 percent from July.

Gains in government jobs, such as public education and law enforcement; business and professional services; mining and construction; trade, transportation and utilities; and manufacturing helped to offset the losses of jobs in healthcare and private education and leisure and hospitality.

“McAllen continues to work to diversify its economy, ensuring that our community is prosperous and that our residents are working,” said McAllen Mayor Jim Darling. “Thanks to our strong partnership between the City of McAllen, the McAllen Economic Development Corporation and even our McAllen Chamber of Commerce, businesses continue to open or expand. This is how successful communities remain vibrant, by working together to make sure every industry is strong.”

While the recent peso devaluation had a big impact on the retail industry in McAllen, City leaders have seen this industry rebound slowly and positively in the last few months, while other industries, such as professional services, are starting to see growth.  In fact, under the Customer Care subsector for this category, Charter Communications’ recently opened call center has already created hundreds of jobs in the area in their newly refurbished location, the former K-Mart shopping center. 

This subsector also includes staffing agencies and other professional business service companies.

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