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Texas Economy Added Almost 48k Jobs in October, Unemployment Steady

The state added 47,900 jobs in October
Photo Courtesy of Bill Jacobus
Construction industry employment went up 8,800 in October

Texas total nonfarm employment was up by 47,900 jobs in October, according to a Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) press release. This number accounts for an impressive third of the 151,000 jobs the entire U.S. economy added in the same period.

“Every major industry added jobs in October with notable increases in Construction employment” said TWC Chairman Tom Pauken.

TWC also released that the unemployment rate stayed steady at 8.1 percent, a substantial percentage and a half less than the country’s, which is currently at 9.6.

Here’s how some of the state’s biggest industries faired in October:

Mining & Logging- Added 1,200 jobs (Up 30,800 from last Oct.)

Construction- Added 8,800 jobs (Up 12,900 from last Oct.)

Manufacturing- Added 1,100 jobs (Up 26,400 from last Oct.)

Trade, Transportation, and Utilities- Added 1,300 jobs (Down 3,000 from last Oct.)

Information- Added 1,000 jobs (Down 13,200 from last Oct.)

Financial Activities- Added 800 jobs (Up 4,500 from last Oct.)

Professional and Business Services- Added 4,200 jobs (Up 50,600 from last Oct.)

Education and Health Services- Added 5,400 jobs (Up 38,800 from last Oct.)

Leisure and Hospitality- Added 2,400 jobs (Up 23,800 from last Oct.)

Other Services- Added 2,600 jobs (Up 5,700 from last Oct.)

Government- Added 19,100 jobs (Down 4,500 from last Oct.)

The Texas Workforce claims the state has added 172,800 jobs in total this year.

The Midland Metropolitan Statistical Area had the lowest unemployment rate of the state at 5.1 percent. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area had the highest at 11.3 percent.

But the report, which can be accessed here, may be massaging the numbers to suggest an economic health the state simply may not be enjoying. For instance, because the overall labor force estimates (which include farm labor) are not seasonally adjusted, it is impossible to accurately calculate how many farm jobs were lost or gained during this period. Simple math suggests that it would probably be around 47,900 jobs, or the amount of jobs gained, as the unemployment rate stayed constant and the workforce only lost 7,900 members (a negligible figure considering there are around 12.2 million people in the workforce, and that is the one of the key statistics needed to calculate the rate).

Also of note is that these are preliminary numbers. Whatever the case, it seems that the state has maintained strength in key economic areas in the still-dreary national economic landscape.   

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