Sherman-Denison unemployment slips to 4.6% in July

By GvilleTX Newsroom

Fewer Grayson County residents were unemployed in July 2026 as Sherman-Denison’s jobless rate reached 4.6%, compared with June’s 4.7%, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Despite that monthly improvement, the rate remained half a percentage point above the previous July, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show.

The decline reversed a small part of June’s increase. TWC’s earlier report put May unemployment at 4.1%, before the early-summer rise. The spring had also brought changes: BLS records show the rate falling from February through April before increasing in May.

The Sherman-Denison metropolitan statistical area covers Grayson County alone, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Its unemployment figures therefore describe Grayson County residents, excluding Gainesville and Cooke County.

BLS estimates put July’s unemployed population at about 3,400, roughly 100 fewer than in June. Meanwhile, the civilian labor force grew by about 340 people to nearly 74,000. Subtracting unemployment from those labor-force totals indicates roughly 440 more residents were employed, a newsroom calculation shows.

| Resident measure | June 2026 | July 2026 | Change |

| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |

| Civilian labor force | 73,429 | 73,769 | +340 |

| Unemployed | 3,462 | 3,365 | −97 |

| Employed, calculated | 69,967 | 70,404 | +437 |

Source: [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/metro.t01.htm); employment totals calculated by GvilleTX Newsroom.

These unemployment estimates retain seasonal effects. BLS explains that recurring events, including school schedules and weather, can influence monthly employment figures. Seasonal adjustment removes predictable patterns to help distinguish underlying changes; the Sherman-Denison rates reported here have not undergone that adjustment.

A separate measure showed payroll employment at Sherman-Denison businesses holding steady from June while exceeding the previous July’s total, according to preliminary BLS estimates. That measure counts jobs at employers’ locations, while unemployment statistics count residents where they live, BLS explains. The resident employment increase therefore is not a count of jobs added at Grayson County workplaces.

Elsewhere in the region, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington recorded the same monthly rate decline, while Wichita Falls had a larger decrease and Texarkana remained unchanged, according to BLS. Sherman-Denison’s annual increase differed from the pattern across most metropolitan areas nationally, where rates fell over the year, the bureau reported.

TWC released its July figures on Aug. 21, 2026. The agency says employment estimates can be revised and scheduled its August labor-market report for Sept. 18, 2026.