Texas adds record number of jobs

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Express-News says that Texas’ labor force hit a new high in September with 15.45 million people on the job or looking for work — and the state added a record number of jobs. More than 29,000 jobs were added last month, bringing the total to 327,000 jobs added over the past 12 months. Texas has added jobs at a rate of 2.3%, outpacing national growth by 0.7 percentage points. The state’s seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment held steady at 4.1%, the Texas Workforce Commission said Friday. That matched the national rate. In the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro area, unemployment fell slightly to 3.8% from 4% in August. The region’s job count grew by 0.5% to nearly 1.2 million jobs, led by growth in the government and construction sectors.

“The record-setting 15.4 million Texans who make up our civilian labor force are strengthening and innovating our state’s economy,” Workforce Commissioner Alberto Treviño III said in a statement. The state’s civilian labor force has added 318,500 people so far this year, including the 51,500 who joined in September. That was up from 44,800 people the month prior. Statewide, job growth was led by the professional and business services sector with its 10,500 new jobs. Private education and health services, a combined sector, added 10,400 jobs; and construction added 8,100 jobs. Construction has consistently led the state’s job growth, with a 5.1% growth rate over the year. In the San Antonio area, the construction sector — which is combined with mining and logging job categories for the report — has grown 4.2% over the past 12 months, adding 76,500 jobs. The San Antonio area wasn’t the only one to record a lower unemployment rate last month — all 25 major metro areas saw rates drop. The Midland metro had the state’s lowest unemployment rate with a rate of 2.6%, followed by the Amarillo at 3% and College Station-Bryan at 3.2%. Beaumont-Port Arthur had the highest rate on unemployment at 6%, followed by McAllen-Edinburg-Mission at 5.9% and Killeen-Temple at 4.7%. While the statewide unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted, rates for metro areas are not.