Workforce Solutions Borderplex has created a stunning series of charts documenting the sudden rise in unemployment in El Paso and Far West Texas as the coronavirus pandemic spreads. The charts break down first-time unemployment claims.

Almost 13,000 new claims in two weeks

March claims dwarfed January and February

Food preparers, servers hardest hit

The initial unemployment crisis is hitting El Paso’s low-paid workers the hardest. The average weekly wage for restaurant workers in El Paso is just over $300 a week, while retail and administrative workers average less than $600 a week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

East Side ZIP Codes 79936, 79938, 79928 heavily impacted

Rural areas also shedding jobs