Texas Unemployment Holds At 8.5%
AUSTIN (AP) -- The Texas unemployment rate held steady at 8.5 percent in September, recovering after a month of job losses and buoyed by the addition of 15,400 positions, the state employment agency said Friday.
The increase in jobs came after the Texas Workforce Commission dramatically revised the number of nonfarm job losses in August to 21,600 from the initially reported figure of 1,300. It was the first month of job losses this year, according to commission figures.
The U.S. jobless rate also held steady in September at 9.1 percent.
Commission Chairman Tom Pauken said he was "encouraged" by the state adding 26,500 private sector jobs in September.
"This continues a long-term trend in Texas of healthy private sector job growth with 282,200 such jobs added over the last year," Pauken said.
Professional and business services added 18,400 jobs in September for a year-over-year gain of 68,200. However, government lost another 11,100 positions and has dropped 33,700 jobs over the past year.
A rebound in teacher payrolls in September blunted overall losses in the public sector. Preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Texas adding around 50,000 jobs in public education, as districts rehired for the new school year after shedding payrolls during the summer.
Teacher unions are still trying to count how many classroom jobs were lost after the state cut $4 billion in education spending last summer. The roughly 802,000 jobs in local education reported for September is a three-year low for that month.
Construction continued a recent recovery by adding 7,200 jobs, while leisure and hospitality lost 6,500 positions.
"Although Texas, like the rest of the country, continues to face challenges, many industries continue to grow here, creating opportunities for those looking for work," said Ronny Congleton, the commissioner representing labor.
Unemployment rates are adjusted for seasonal trends in hiring and firing, which most economists believe give a more accurate picture of the job market. Without the seasonal adjustment, the September jobless rate in Texas matched the August figure of 8.4 percent.
Midland's jobless rate dropped to 4.9 percent in September, becoming the only local market with a rate below 5 percent. The Brownsville-Harlingen area has the highest rate at 12.4 percent. The local rates are not seasonally adjusted.
The preliminary local jobless rates for September, with revised August numbers in parentheses, were:
--Abilene 7.2 (7.2)
--Amarillo 6.0 (5.9)
--Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 7.4 (7.4)
--Beaumont-Port Arthur 11.4 (11.6)
--Brownsville-Harlingen 12.4 (12.5)
--College Station-Bryan 6.5 (6.9)
--Corpus Christi 8.1 (8.2)
--Dallas-Plano-Irving 8.4 (8.4)
--El Paso 10.6 (10.6)
--Fort Worth-Arlington 8.2 (8.3)
--Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown 8.6 (8.6)
--Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood 8.8 (8.6)
--Laredo 8.2 (8.5)
--Longview 7.3 (7.2)
--Lubbock 6.5 (6.6)
--McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 12.3 (12.6)
--Midland 4.9 (4.8)
--Odessa 6.2 (6.5)
--San Angelo 6.8 (6.7)
--San Antonio-New Braunfels 7.9 (7.9)
--Sherman-Denison 8.8 (8.8)
--Texarkana 7.8 (8.0)
--Tyler 8.3 (8.3)
--Victoria 7.1 (7.1)
--Waco 8.0 (8.1)
--Wichita Falls 7.6 (7.6)
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(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
