Strategies for Employers 2026
The state of Texas continues to face a labor shortage that is affecting multiple industries, even as the national labor market shows signs of cooling.
Recent national JOLTS data shows that in November 2025 there were about 7.1 million job openings, and for the first time in several years, job openings fell below the number of unemployed people, meaning employers are no longer in the ultra-tight conditions seen earlier in the decade.
Even with this shift, many employers still report hiring difficulty because available candidates do not always match the skills, schedules, or pay expectations tied to open roles.
The “tightness” of the market is often summarized by how many unemployed people exist per job opening, and the BLS shows this measure rose to 1.1 unemployed persons per opening in November 2025, up from the sub-1.0 levels common in 2024 and early 2025.
This signals that hiring pressure is easing nationally, but it does not automatically resolve local, industry-specific shortages.
In Texas, job openings remain high by historical standards and continue to create pressure in key sectors.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (State JOLTS), Texas recorded 600,000 job openings in August 2025, up from 566,000 in July 2025, with a job openings rate of 4.0%.
That is a large volume of unfilled demand, and it helps explain why employers in fast-growing regions still compete aggressively for talent.
At the same time, Texas had 14,321,000 total nonfarm jobs and a 4.2% unemployment rate in November 2025, showing that employment is high but the available labor pool is not always enough to meet business needs quickly.
Recent Dallas Fed analysis also suggests Texas employment growth was roughly flat in 2025, which can add to the feeling of “stuck” hiring and slower workforce expansion.
Industries such as hospitality, construction, healthcare, technology, and manufacturing continue to be mentioned often because they rely on either high-volume staffing, specialized skills, or demanding schedules.
In the restaurant and foodservice space, Texas remains one of the largest employers in the country, with 1,231,000 eating-and-drinking-place jobs and 1,472,500 total restaurant and foodservice jobs statewide (including non-restaurant foodservice).
That scale matters because when hiring gets tight, even small shortages can disrupt daily operations, shift coverage, and service quality.
Construction and manufacturing also remain sensitive to shortages because many roles require hands-on technical skills that take time to develop, such as welding, machining, and equipment operation.
Healthcare staffing continues to be pressured by rising demand for services and persistent shortages in clinical roles, which can affect patient wait times and facility capacity.
Overall, the updated data shows a labor market that is not as extreme as early 2024 nationwide, but still challenging in Texas due to the sheer number of open roles, uneven skill matching, and industry-specific workforce constraints.
Strategies to Mitigate Labor Shortages and Create a Sustainable Workforce:
1. Invest in education and training:
Encouraging investment in various vocational training programs, apprenticeships, and skill development initiatives can effectively address the labor shortage issue in Texas.
By investing in such initiatives, individuals can acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the demands of various industries, thereby bridging the skills gap and preparing a skilled workforce for the future.
Collaborations between educational institutions, businesses, and government agencies can help create a more coordinated and comprehensive approach to skills development.
These entities can design and implement training programs tailored to the industry’s specific needs, ensuring that individuals have the right skills for the job.
Various industries in Texas and skill development initiatives in these industries face labor shortages.
The state can create a pipeline of skilled workers to meet the growing demand for labor.
This will not only benefit the state’s businesses and industries but also provide more job opportunities for Texans.
2. Promoting workforce diversity and inclusion practices:
Creating inclusive work environments that foster diversity and implementing effective diversity recruitment strategies is essential.
While the mental health provider population in the state is over 80% white, according to data from 2023.
By diversifying, the state can attract a wider talent pool and provide opportunities for underrepresented groups to contribute to the state’s economy.
Beyond the benefits of a more diverse workforce, promoting inclusivity and diversity can also help build a more resilient workforce in Texas.
This can involve developing diversity recruitment plans, providing training and support for underrepresented employees, and creating a culture of inclusivity across all levels of the organization.
3. Offer competitive wages and benefits:
Employers can partner with healthcare providers to offer telemedicine services, which can help employees access healthcare services remotely.
By taking these steps, employers can help address the issue of healthcare access for their employees and potentially mitigate the impact of Medicaid coverage exclusions.
In addition to these standard offerings, providing opportunities for career advancement, professional development, and work-life balance can be critical differentiators for companies seeking to stand out from the crowd.
In addition, offering flexible schedules and other work-life balance initiatives can help employees manage their personal and professional responsibilities, leading to greater job satisfaction and improved retention rates.
One way to achieve this is by creating a favorable business environment encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation. This can be done by offering tax incentives, reducing regulatory burdens, and streamlining licensing processes.
Providing access to capital through low-interest loans, grants, and venture capital can help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into successful businesses.
4. Hiring Foreign Workers:
This employment-based immigrant visa category allows foreign workers to obtain permanent residency in the U.S.
The program allows companies to sponsor foreign workers that are in high demand in industries facing labor shortages.
This also can help businesses find qualified workers to fill critical roles that are difficult to fill locally.
The EB-3 visa can be especially beneficial for industries that require highly skilled workers, such as technology, healthcare, and construction.
Foreign workers can contribute to the growth and competitiveness of industries by bringing new ideas, perspectives, and expertise to the workforce, which can contribute to innovation and productivity.
By utilizing the EB-3 visa program, companies operating in Texas can promote diversity, teamwork, and a more dynamic workplace by giving them the opportunity to recruit skilled workers from different parts of the world.
Step-by-Step How To Strategies for Texas employers to reduce the impact of the 2024 labor shortage
Step 1 Pinpoint your biggest staffing gaps.
Start by listing your roles that stay open the longest and the shifts that are hardest to cover.
Review how many applicants you get per posting, how many interviews you schedule, and where candidates drop off.
Compare wages and benefits for those roles against local competitors so you can see where you are losing talent.
Talk with supervisors to confirm which skills are truly required versus “nice to have.”
Simplify job descriptions to remove unnecessary requirements that shrink your candidate pool.
Set a clear hiring target for the next 30, 60, and 90 days.
Step 2 Build a training pipeline instead of waiting for “perfect” candidates.
Create short, role-based training plans that can take someone from entry level to productive in a few weeks.
Partner with local community colleges, trade schools, or workforce boards to align training with your real job needs.
Launch apprenticeships or paid internships so candidates can learn while earning and you can evaluate them on the job.
Assign experienced employees as mentors and give them time and recognition for training others.
Use skills checklists so promotions and pay increases feel fair and transparent.
This approach helps close the skills gap while improving retention.
Step 3 Make your workplace more inclusive to reach more qualified applicants.
Expand recruiting to underrepresented communities and adjust your outreach to match where people actually look for work.
Train managers on inclusive hiring, fair interviewing, and how to reduce bias in screening.
Review your job ads for confusing language, unnecessary degree requirements, or phrases that discourage certain groups from applying.
Create a welcoming onboarding process so new hires feel supported from day one.
Track diversity metrics like applicant mix, hiring rates, and promotions to see what is improving and what is not.
A broader and more inclusive hiring approach can increase the size and quality of your talent pool.
Step 4 Improve compensation and benefits in ways that matter most.
If you cannot raise base pay dramatically, consider targeted pay increases for hard-to-fill roles or hard-to-work shifts.
Add benefits employees actually use, like affordable healthcare options, telehealth access, childcare support, or transportation assistance.
Offer predictable schedules and flexible options where possible, because many workers value stability and work-life balance as much as pay.
Create clear career paths so employees can see how they will grow and earn more over time.
Ask current staff what would make them stay and what would attract their friends to apply.
Small changes that reduce stress can quickly boost retention.
Step 5 Use smarter recruiting and faster hiring to stop losing candidates.
Reduce the number of interview steps and make your timeline clear so applicants do not feel stuck.
Respond to candidates within 24–48 hours whenever possible, because top applicants usually have multiple offers.
Post jobs where the right people are, including local groups, trade networks, and referral programs.
Offer a referral bonus and make it easy for employees to participate.
Use skill tests or paid working interviews for hands-on roles to speed up decisions.
A faster and simpler hiring process can increase accepted offers.
Step 6 Fill critical roles by sponsoring foreign workers when local hiring is not enough.
For roles that remain open for months, consider lawful options like the EB-3 immigrant visa program to sponsor workers for in-demand positions.
Work with an experienced immigration partner to confirm which jobs qualify and what steps your company must follow.
Plan ahead because visa processes take time, and you may need a long-term hiring calendar.
Create strong onboarding support for foreign hires, including housing guidance, community resources, and workplace mentors.
Use foreign hiring as one part of a broader staffing plan, not the only solution.
When done correctly, global hiring can stabilize staffing, support growth, and improve team diversity.
Frequently Asked Questions: Labor Shortage in Texas
Why does it feel so hard to hire or keep workers in Texas right now, and should I be worried about it getting worse?
Texas is feeling the labor shortage because there are more open jobs than there are available workers to fill them, and that imbalance is showing up across many industries.
National data has pointed to millions of job openings compared to a smaller number of unemployed people, which makes hiring more competitive.
When there are fewer workers available, businesses often compete by raising wages and offering better perks, which can raise costs quickly.
At the same time, many roles now require specific skills, and employers cannot always find candidates who match those requirements right away.
This shortage can cause overtime, burnout, slower customer service, and delayed projects, especially in sectors like healthcare, construction, hospitality, tech, and manufacturing.
The situation is serious because it affects daily operations and long-term growth plans.
The good news is employers can reduce the impact by improving training, retention, hiring speed, and total compensation.If I’m struggling to fill open positions, what can I realistically do right now to get people in the door faster?
The fastest wins usually come from simplifying your hiring process and making your offer more attractive.
Start by shortening the time between application and interview, because good candidates get hired quickly.
Reduce unnecessary steps like too many interviews or long assessments, and clearly explain the schedule, pay, and benefits upfront.
Use employee referrals by offering a bonus and reminding staff regularly, since referrals often hire faster and stay longer.
Rework job descriptions so they focus on real must-have skills and remove requirements that are not truly needed.
Also consider flexible scheduling, shift differentials, and sign-on bonuses for roles that are hardest to fill.
These steps can quickly improve your acceptance rate and cut down on open positions.Why are my employees leaving even though I’m trying to stay competitive, and how can I stop the constant turnover?
Retention improves when employees feel respected, supported, and able to build a future at your company.
Pay matters, but people also leave because of unpredictable schedules, poor management, burnout, and lack of growth.
Start by reviewing whether your wages are competitive for your local market and adjust the roles that are far behind.
Add benefits that reduce real-life stress, such as affordable healthcare options, flexible time off, or stable scheduling.
Create a clear path for promotions and raises so employees can see what they need to do to advance.
Invest in training and leadership coaching so supervisors communicate better and solve problems faster.
Most importantly, ask your employees what would make them stay and act on the top two or three issues.
When workers see changes that improve their day-to-day life, they are far more likely to stay even if another job offers slightly more money.When people say I should “invest in training,” what does that actually look like for a small or mid-sized Texas business like mine?
Investing in training does not have to mean expensive programs or long classrooms.
It can start with a simple plan that teaches the exact skills needed for your open roles in a short timeframe.
Many employers build a checklist for each role and train new hires step-by-step until they can do the work safely and independently.
You can partner with local community colleges, trade schools, or workforce programs to share costs and get training tailored to your needs.
Apprenticeships and paid internships are also practical, because people learn while contributing to your business.
Training also helps retention, because employees feel more confident and see a future with your company.
Over time, this creates a pipeline of workers who grow into higher-skilled roles instead of you always searching outside for “perfect” candidates.
Even small training improvements can make hiring easier because you can consider applicants with potential, not only applicants with years of experience.How does focusing on diversity and inclusion help me solve my hiring problems instead of creating more work?
Diversity and inclusion can help because they expand the number of people who see your company as a place where they belong and can succeed.
When hiring is limited to the same channels and the same types of candidates, you often miss strong workers who are available and interested.
Inclusive recruiting means posting jobs in more places, building relationships with community groups, and making sure job ads do not discourage qualified applicants.
It also means training managers to interview fairly and to focus on skills rather than assumptions.
Once people are hired, inclusion reduces turnover because employees feel respected and supported, which improves morale and teamwork.
A more welcoming culture can strengthen your employer brand, leading to more applicants and better referrals.
In a tight labor market, reaching more qualified candidates can be a major advantage.If I can’t find enough local workers, should I be looking at hiring foreign workers, and how does the EB-3 option fit into that decision?
Hiring foreign workers can be a smart option when critical roles stay open for a long time and local hiring is not producing enough qualified candidates.
The EB-3 immigrant visa pathway is one program that can allow employers to sponsor workers for permanent roles, including positions that are hard to fill.
This approach works best as part of a broader workforce plan that also includes local recruiting, training, and retention.
Employers should understand that immigration programs have rules, timelines, and paperwork, so planning ahead is important.
It also helps to prepare for onboarding needs like training support, cultural adjustment, and helping workers settle into the community.
When done correctly, foreign hiring can stabilize operations and reduce constant turnover and re-hiring costs.
For industries like healthcare, construction, manufacturing, and technology, global hiring can also bring new skills and perspectives that support growth and innovation.
The Bottom Line
Texas is facing a major challenge due to the labor shortage, which has affected multiple industries, such as healthcare, construction, hospitality, technology, and manufacturing.
To minimize the negative impacts of this shortage, Texas can adopt a comprehensive and long-term strategy that includes investing in education and training programs, promoting diversity and inclusion practices, implementing industry-specific targeted approaches, and sponsoring foreign workers through the EB-3 visa program.
Texas has the potential to develop a stable workforce, enhance economic growth, and increase job prospects for its residents by tackling the challenge of labor shortage.
