Texas hit 3.7 percent jobless rate; city, county better still

November marked the 29th consecutive month of job growth for Texas, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) says. The state also achieved a seasonallyadjusted unemployment rate of 3.7 percent last month — repeating the same historic 42-year low recorded in October.

And following recent trends, jobless rates in San Marcos and Hays County remain lower that that of the state as a whole.

San Marcos saw an unemployment rate of 2.9 percent in November, compared to 3.0 percent in October as well as in November of last year. Hays County, meanwhile, did even better, with a November jobless rate of 2.8 percent. That number was unchanged from October. In November of 2017, the county saw an unemployment rate of 2.9 percent.

The TWC says the state added 14,00 seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs last month with the manufacturing industry seeing the biggest gain of more than 9,100 jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities added 8,900 positions across the state in November and the professional and business services sector added 1,000.

Once again, the Midland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) saw the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.1 percent, followed by the Amarillo MSA at 2.5 and the Odessa MSA at 2.6. The Austin/Round Rock MSA, which includes San Marcos, came in with a 2.7 percent jobless rate.

The Rio Grande Valley and the “Golden Triangle” area of East Texas continue to have higher rates than the state’s average. The rate for the Beaumont/Port Arthur MSA was 5.2 percent in November, and in the Brownsville/Harlingen MSA it was also 5.2 percent. The state’s highest rate was 5.4 percent in the McAllen/Edinburg/ Mission MSA.

TWC Commissioner Robert D. Thomas called the numbers a reason to celebrate. “While we reflect thankfully on the contributions from employers and individuals who made this tremendous record of success possible, we remain steadfastly committed to fostering continued job creation through economic development strategies and collaborative efforts to provide opportunities for all Texans to enjoy selfsufficiency and prosperity,” he said.

The next round of numbers reflecting December rates is scheduled for release Friday, Jan. 18.