Good news, bad news for Cameron County: Opportunity Index shows county’s ups and downs
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The unemployment rate in CameronCounty has fallen steadily since 2011.
However, its “opportunity score” is a mere 36.3 out of 100, which earns it a grade of “D plus.”
The rating is according to the Opportunity Index, an annual composite measure of states and counties examining economic, educational and civic factors that influence the level of opportunity within a given population.
In state rankings, Texas earned an opportunity score of 36, one point higher than California. The top-scoring state was Vermont, followed by Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The index is a joint project between Measure of America, itself a project of the Social Science Research Council, and Opportunity Nation, a bipartisan campaign to expand economic mobility nationwide.
CameronCounty’s grade has risen from a “D minus” since 2011, the first year of the index. Also during that time, the county’s unemployment rate fell from 12.6 percent to 6.7 percent. Last year, the rate was 8 percent, according to the index.
Statewide, unemployment is 4 percent. Nationwide, it’s 5.1 percent, according to the index.
Read the full article at ValleyMorningStar.com.
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