Texoma Regional Economic Dashboard Quarterly Report 4th Qtr.

2012 Release Date: March 22, 2013

Purpose: The Texoma Regional Economic Dashboard project is designed to inform Workforce Development, Economic Development, and Regional Planning professionals about the economic condition of the Texoma Workforce Development Area. This dashboard will allow the partners, and other interested parties a better understanding of the regions economy in order to plan for the future, identify strengths and weaknesses, and apply for grants to execute projects that improve the regions infrastructure, services, and workforce and economic development systems. The dashboard provides historical perspective on a number of traditional and non-traditional data points, gathered from multiple sources. These data points come from several strategically identified types in order to give a more complete picture of the Texoma Region. The data and analysis will help with the development of Workforce Solutions Texomas Strategic Plan; the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS); work plans for Economic Development Entities; strategic plans for counties, cities, and school districts in the Region, as well as important labor market information for employers and job seekers. Definition of the Region: For the purpose of this report, the Texoma Region is defined as Cooke, Fannin, and Grayson Counties in Texas. Plans are underway to gather data from a portion of Southeast Oklahoma in the near future to get a better picture of the Texoma Labor Shed. Most Recent Quarter Analysis, 4th Qtr., 2012 Based on the data collected, and the analysis of the team, it appears the overall economic health of the Region is better than it was last quarter, and this this time last year. This is based on several factors. Civilian Labor Force is at 96,078 down from 96,406 in the 3rd Qtr. 2012, but up from 94,456 in the 4th Qtr. 2011. Unemployment Rate is at 6.3% up from 6.2% in the 3rd Qtr. 2012, but down from 7.2% in the 4th Qtr. 2011. TANF Enrollment is at 708 down from 712 in the 3rd Qtr. 2012, and down from 742 in the 4th Qtr. 2011. SNAP Enrollment is at 30,239 up from 29,827 in the 3rd Qtr. 2012, but down from 31,066 in the 4th Qtr. 2011. Sales Tax Allocations are at $10,240,529 down from $13,042,258 in the 3rd Qtr. 2012, and down from $11,262,868 in the 4th Qtr. 2011.

Hotel/Motel Taxable Sales are at $5,921,660 down from $7,641,470 in the 3rd Qtr. 2012, but up from $5,835,735 in the 3rd Qtr. 2011. Additional Analysis: Texomas Civilian Labor Force dropped 0.34% over the last Qtr., but is still up 1.72% over this time last year, which is pretty consistent with the State of Texas for the same comparison. By contrast, the US Labor force has grown only 1.06% over this time last year. The Unemployment Rate for Texoma, Texas, and the US stayed steady with the last Qtr., but all three dropped from this time last year. Texoma was down 0.90%, Texas down 1.70%, and the US down 0.70%. Combining the increase in the Civilian Labor Force with a decrease in Unemployment means a greater number of people are working now (96,078) than at this time last year (94,456). Texoma has not fared quite as well as the State on TANF Enrollments which are down 4.58% for Texoma, but down 11.41% for the State since this time last year. The region has done better on SNAP Enrollments with Texoma down 2.66%, and the State down only 1.56% since this time last year. Texoma currently has 708 TANF Cases and 30,239 SNAP Cases. With approximately 800 fewer people receiving SNAP benefits; and more than 2,300 additional people working, the employment situation continues to show signs of gradual improvement. Future Releases: The Texoma Regional Economic Dashboard will be released in two formats, a quarterly report that will contain analysis of indicators available on a quarterly basis at minimum, and an annual report that will contain analysis of the quarterly indicators and additional indicators available on an annual basis at minimum.