Occupational Structure & Demand

Figure 6. COMPARATIVE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, 2008-2020

Beaumont-Port Arthur Lufkin-Nacogdoches Texarkana Texas US

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Figure 7 shows employment by occupational family. In all three economies, office and administrative support and sales and related are the largest occupational families. These two occupational families were among the top losers of jobs both prior to and during the Pandemic.

In Beaumont-Port Arthur, construction and extraction is the third largest occupational family. In Lufkin-Nacogdoches and in Texarkana, transportation and material moving is the third largest. As shown in Figure 8, there are a number of common high-demand occupations across the three regions. The transportation and material moving family of occupations is one of the highest in-demand. This includes heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers; laborers and freight, stock, and material movers; stockers and order fillers; and light truck drivers. One of the next largest is construction and extraction, including construction laborers, carpenters, and electricians. A third high-demand occupational family is healthcare practitioners, in particular registered nurses and LVNs.

Figure 7. EMPLOYMENT BY OCCUPATION, 2020

TOTAL JOBS Office & Administrative Support Sales & Related Construction & Extraction Food Preparation & Serving Related Production Transportation & Material Moving Educational Instruction & Library Installation, Maintenance, & Repair Management Healthcare Practitioners & Technical Healthcare Support Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance Business & Financial Operations Protective Service Architecture & Engineering Personal Care & Service Community & Social Service Life, Physical, & Social Science Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media Computer & Mathematical Legal Farming, Fishing, & Forestry BEAUMONT-PORT ARTHUR LUFKIN-NACOGDOCHES

20,769 18,051 16,119 15,384 14,923 14,872 11,020 9,495 9,450 9,243 8,466 6,812 6,027 5,321 4,582 4,431 2,775 2,143 1,949 1,855 1,123 934 186,229

11% 10,515 10% 7,241 9% 3,378 8% 6,614 8% 6,174 8% 6,780 6% 5,647 5% 3,373 5% 4,052 5% 4,672 5% 5,088 4% 3,096 3% 2,239 3% 1,957 2% 645 2% 1,853 1% 1,282 1% 459 1% 754 1% 643 1% 303 1% 1,635 78,545

13% 7,696 9% 6,800 4% 3,078 8% 6,473 8% 4,703 9% 6,609 7% 4,653 4% 3,550 5% 3,026 6% 4,747 6% 3,728 4% 2,821 3% 2,404 2% 1,838 1% 559 2% 1,451 2% 1,324 1% 351 1% 622 1% 543 0% 369 2% 540 TEXARKANA 68,083

Source: Emsi 2021.2 – QCEW Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, and Self-Employed.

SOC Description 53-3032 Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 47-2061 Construction Laborers

BEAUMONTPORT ARTHUR

LUFKINNACOGDOCHES TEXARKANA

Openings Median

Hourly Earnings Openings Median

Hourly Earnings Openings Median Hourly Earnings

Total Openings 1,526 $20.44 959 $19.65 864 $23.29 3,348 1,497 $16.29 391 $13.83 296 $13.64 2,183

11-1021 General & Operations Managers

1,204 $38.68 594 $35.41 384 $36.16 2,182 43-6014 Secretaries & Admin. Assists., Except Legal, Medical, & Executive 1,111 $15.92 570 $14.77 345 $14.32 2,026 41-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers 953 $18.58 510 $16.29 450 $18.08 1,913 35-1012 First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation & Serving Workers 973 $14.24 425 $16.60 491 $15.73 1,889 53-7062 Laborers & Freight, Stock, & Material Movers, Hand 1,002 $14.34 — — 666 $14.98 1,668 29-1141 Registered Nurses 710 $33.03 405 $32.93 476 $31.66 1,591 43-3031 Bookkeeping, Accounting, & Auditing Clerks 829 $18.37 431 $16.43 304 $15.04 1,564 49-9071 Maintenance & Repair Workers, General 838 $18.24 390 $14.97 289 $15.81 1,516 53-7065 Stockers & Order Fillers 1,457 $13.77 — — — — 1,457 25-2021 Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education 672 $26.09 348 $23.79 310 $22.16 1,330 53-3033 Light Truck Drivers 767 $14.49 232 $11.69 308 $13.34 1,307 43-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Office & Admin. Support Workers 669 $25.14 374 $22.64 250 $23.62 1,292 33-3012 Correctional Officers & Jailers 595 $22.11 336 $18.90 335 $19.52 1,267 47-2031 Carpenters 802 $23.00 201 $15.63 218 $16.14 1,221 29-2061 Licensed Practical & Licensed Vocational Nurses 562 $20.24 290 $21.46 300 $18.62 1,152 41-4012 Sales Reps., Wholesale & Mfg., Except Tech. & Scientific Prods. 779 $26.26 233 $23.29 — — 1,013 51-4121 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, & Brazers 679 $25.78 — — 301 $19.28 979 47-2111 Electricians 760 $27.31 192 $20.50 — — 952

Figure 9. TOP INDUSTRIES WHERE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES EMPLOYED

Retail Trade Accommodations and Food Services Construction Health Care and Social Assistance Administrative and Support Services Manufacturing Educational Services BEAUMONT-PORT ARTHUR LUFKIN-NACOGDOCHES 32% 27%

28% 30%

9% 8% 7% 8%

8% 7% 3% 10% 9% 6% TEXARKANA 36% 32% 16% 13% 4% 8% 3%

Sources: (Figure 8) Emsi 2021.2 – QCEW Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, and Self-Employed. (Figure 9) TPEIR a joint effort of the Texas Education Agency and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Notes: (Figure 8) Includes only jobs with average wages greater than $15 per hour and that are high-demand in more than one region. (Figure 9) Includes all employed high school graduates, both those who are working only and those who are working and enrolled in a Texas public university or college. Percentages represent the average percent of each school district’s total. Only for school districts with five or more employed graduates.

ALIGNMENT OF TALENT PIPELINES

Figure 9 shows the top industries where recent high school graduates are employed. Although transportation, construction, and healthcare are the three industries with the highest in-demand jobs that pay more than $15 an hour, almost twothirds of high school graduates who go directly into the workforce upon graduation are employed in retail and accommodations and food services.

For those entry-level occupations that require a degree, a comparison of the number of completions or degree awards by career cluster can be an indicator of the alignment of the talent pipeline (See Figure 10). In Beaumont-Port Arthur and Lufkin-Nacogdoches, the regions have more than enough graduates to fill the entry-level jobs that require degrees. In Texarkana, the region has a shortage of graduates to fill open positions.

However, a comparison by career cluster shows areas of misalignment. For example, the

Beaumont-Port Arthur region is short graduates in health science. In Texarkana, the health science shortage is more acute as is the shortage of graduates in education. Note that the annual openings of transportation, distribution, & logistics includes truck drivers, which requires a commercial driver’s license. These can be acquired through a postsecondary degree program or nondegree program. Likewise, the annual openings in human services includes occupations that require licenses that can be attained through a degree or nondegree program.

Conversely, all three regions have an abundance of graduates in business, marketing, & finance; science, technology, engineering, & math; manufacturing; and law & public service. In addition, there are large numbers of graduates in education from the BeaumontPort Arthur and Lufkin-Nacogdoches areas.

Figure 10. OPENINGS AND COMPLETIONS BY CAREER CLUSTER

Career Cluster Education & Training Health Science Business, Marketing, & Finance Transportation, Distribution & Logistics Human Services Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Information Technology Manufacturing Law & Public Service Architecture & Construction Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Hospitality & Tourism TOTAL BEAUMONT-PORT ARTHUR LUFKIN-NACOGDOCHES

Annual

Openings 867 795 Total Completions 3,368 786 Annual Openings 449 450 Total Completions 1,034 560

459 455 188 548

431 22 238 8

386 216 131 103 79 432 698 130 589 310 148 44 48 16 35 275 538 49 78 101

76 70 29 148 21 30 15 349

53 0 3,666

5 23 6,995

11 0 1,678

140 38 3,733 TEXARKANA

Annual Openings 368 438 181 226 57

159 37 38 19 35 14 28 12 0 1,554

Source: Emsi 2021.2 – QCEW Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, and Self-Employed and National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Note: Annual openings include only entry-level occupations that require a degree program. Completions includes only for-credit degree or other recognized postsecondary credentials that are eligible for Federal financial aid.