Texas has received its first monthly unemployment report since Governor Rick Perry announced he was running for President on his record of job creation. The numbers from Texas Workforce Solutions show the state added 29,300 jobs last month.
But the state unemployment rate still ticked higher, from 8.2 percent in June to 8.4 percent in July. That’s because more people started looking for jobs in Texas.
The Texas unemployment rate is now edging closer to the national average of 9.1 percent.
This report will give Gov. Perry some fodder for speeches. For example, the number of government jobs were reduced by 9,400 last month, but the private sector added 38,700 jobs.
However, some economists doubt whether Perry can take credit for job growth.
"It's hard to believe the continuation of a policy fostered this when the previous recession," University of Texas labor economist Daniel Hamermesh told KUT News. "There’s been no great change in the regulatory climate in this state in the last 15 years.”
The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area added 3,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate in the metro region was 7.6 percent. That’s unchanged from June. And it was up from 7.3 percent in July 2010.
