Texas Adds 2,500 Jobs In October
Source: Quorum Report
Big drop in government jobs nearly eclipses gains in the private sector
October job figures for Texas are out today, showing job gains in the private sector more than offsetting losses in government jobs but not by much.
The private sector added 13,500 jobs last month but government payrolls shrunk by 11,000 jobs. That means the state added a net 2,500 jobs, which was enough to drop the unemployment rate by 0.1 percent to 8.4 percent.
The Texas Workforce Commission notes that the government sector has lost 54,600 jobs since October 2010. Over the same period, the private sector has added 286,200 jobs.The Texas unemployment rate meanwhile remains below the national unemployment rate of 9 percent with 80,000 jobs added nationally last month.
Private sector gains last month were paced by 14,900 jobs added in the leisure and hospitality sector. Other sectors showing big gains were education and health services (6,600 jobs) and trade, transportation and utilities (6,500).
The construction sector, though, reported a decline of 12,800 jobs.
By John Reynolds
