Nearly four-million Texans have filed for unemployment since the pandemic started. The total includes nearly 36-thousand in the week ending December 12th. The state's unemployment rate is nearly twice what it was at the beginning of 2020. A drop in sales tax revenues, which are the state's biggest single source of funding, has created a gap that lawmakers will have to deal with in the 2021 legislative session. Economists say lower oil prices and the ongoing pandemic will slow the economic recovery in Texas.
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