TYLER, Texas (KETK) – The unemployment rate in Texas is the lowest it has been in four decades.

And for the 36th year, Dr. Ray Perryman visited Tyler to tell us how East Texas is faring economically.

The biggest short term challenge facing East Texas is finding enough workers.

Perryman says the growth in the workforce exceeds the number of people available to take the jobs.

He forecasts that more than 12 million jobs will be added by 2024. And the population of Texas is expected to grow by 2 million within the next five years.

He projects Tyler will expand at an even more rapid rate.

“Tyler will grow faster in terms of employment and output than the United States and Texas, and that’s saying something because Texas is one of the top growing states in the country,” Perryman said. “You have a lot of areas like the Permian Basin, like Austin, that really bring that state average up, so if you’re beating that state average you’re doing quite well.”

The Perryman Group is predicting that the rate of economic expansion in the Tyler area will exceed that of the rest of the nation and that employment is likely to increase at a 1.99% annual pace, leading to a gain of almost 11,500 jobs by 2024.

Tyler currently is the 4th highest in per capita income growth for people who live in the area, meaning more money stays in your pocket.

A November 19 report in Bloomberg said per capita income in Tyler grew 9.3% from 2016-2018.

According to Perryman, the factors leading to Tyler’s economic strength include an expanding base of health care, higher education, and other key industries in the area.