The Texas economy continues to grow with the addition of 5,500 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in August. This is the 14th consecutive month of job growth across the state of Texas. The unemployment rate did increase slightly across the state but decreased overall compared to August 2016.
The areas with the highest unemployment rates, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, or TWC, are concentrated around the coast and southern border. The Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area, or MSAs, recorded the month’s lowest unemployment rate among Texas metros with a non-seasonally adjusted rate of 3.1 percent, followed by the Midland MSA with a rate of 3.2 percent and the Austin-Round Rock MSA with a rate of 3.4 percent.
“Texas employers added 298,600 jobs over the year in the diverse and competitive Texas economy,” said TWC Chairman Andres Alcantar. “TWC is dedicated to building and deploying the partnerships necessary to support the rebuilding of our Texas communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey and to put our fellow Texans back to work.” By comparison, Houston’s unemployment rate continues to trend higher than the Austin-Round Rock and Dallas-Plano-Irving metro areas.
The Texas Labor Market & Career Information Data is released each month by the Texas Workforce Commission.