Nearly 500,000 jobs available in Texas; new state tool helps you find them

EL PASO, Texas -- Unemployment rates are surging nationwide. Many businesses have closed while the country works to fight against the spread of coronavirus. With so many doors closed, it can be difficult to find available jobs. A new tool in Texas hopes to change that.

The WorkInTexas.com website shows available job openings in the state of Texas. As of April 22, there were nearly 500,000 openings in various fields.

On the home page, users can enter some key words about jobs they might be seeking. They are also asked to enter a zip code and how far they are willing to commute.

In a 25-mile radius surrounding Downtown El Paso, there were more than 1,700 openings as of April 22.

It's not the only list showing openings in the area. Workforce Solutions Borderplex shared this list of immediate job openings.

For those who still have jobs and a reliable income, UTEP finance professor Oscar Varela recommends ceasing spending on things that aren't necessary.

Varela said it might help many save, knowing vacations and other costly activities are being put on hold.

"By necessity, people are going to be cutting back on some of the luxuries they've enjoyed in the past," he said. "To the extent that helps them preserve some of their capital and follow a risk averse approach to how they spend their money, that would be good."

Varela recommends having enough saved to get you through two or three months without pay, such as if you were to suddenly lose a job.

"Anybody who has a job and is receiving a paycheck should be, at this time, prudent with how they spend it," Varela said. "They should be concerned about the possibility of uncertainty in the future, that maybe they won't have a job down the line, so they should be concentrating more on necessities than on luxuries."