Austin’s unemployment rate went down slightly from February to March – to 5.3 percent. The state rate was about one point higher (6.4 percent, seasonally adjudged; 6.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted).
Both numbers are well below the national rate for March: 7.6 percent.
Both the state and local rates are also well below what they were in March 2012 (7 percent and 6 percent, respectively).
The Texas Workforce Commission reports that employers in Texas have added 329,500 jobs since March of last year. But the number of nonagricultural jobs fell by 4,100 in March and by 19,000 in six other industries. Five major industries saw 14,900 jobs added – Leisure and Hospitality led the way with 5,500 of those.
