Texas jobless rate decreases in September despite Harvey

October 21, 2017 at 4:40 a.m. | Updated October 21, 2017 at 3:01 a.m.

by Associated Press

This April 22, 2014, file photo shows an employment application form on a table at a job fair in Hudson, N.Y. Middle-age white Americans with limited education are increasingly dying younger, on average, than other middle-age U.S. adults, a trend driven by their dwindling economic opportunities, research by two Princeton University economists has found. The economists, Anne Case and Angus Deaton, argue in a paper released Thursday, March 23, 2017, that the loss of steady middle-income jobs for those with high school degrees or less has triggered broad problems for this group.
This April 22, 2014, file photo shows an employment application form on a table at a job fair in Hudson, N.Y. Middle-age white Americans with limited education are increasingly dying younger, on average, than other middle-age U.S. adults, a trend driven by their dwindling economic opportunities, research by two Princeton University economists has found. The economists, Anne Case and Angus Deaton, argue in a paper released Thursday, March 23, 2017, that the loss of steady middle-income jobs for those with high school degrees or less has triggered broad problems for this group.

AUSTIN, Texas-The Texas unemployment rate fell for the fifth straight month, dropping to 4 percent in September despite jobs that were washed away by Hurricane Harvey, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday.

September's unemployment rate was a drop from the 4.2 percent recorded in August. The national rate for September was 4.2 percent.

Amarillo had the lowest unemployment rate in Texas last month at 2.7 percent, followed by Midland at 2.8 percent. The highest rate was in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area at 8.1 percent. Harvey brought widespread flooding to the area after first making landfall Aug. 25 along the Texas Gulf Coast.

"Hurricane Harvey impacted overall job numbers in September, but the dynamic Texas economy has created jobs in 10 of 11 industries over the year," commission Chairman Andres Alcantar said.

About 7,300 jobs were lost statewide in September, largely due to Harvey, but those losses were more than offset by positions gained.

The financial industry added about 5,000 jobs while professional and business services added nearly 6,000. Those gains along with ones in other sectors offset the more than 21,000 jobs lost by the leisure and hospitality industry alone.

"Texas' economic growth is boosted by the resilience of our employers who have added 230,300 private-sector jobs over the past year," Commissioner Ruth R. Hughs said.

Claims for jobless aid nationally dropped by 22,000 to 222,000.

 

The overall number of Americans collecting unemployment checks dropped to 1.89 million, lowest since December 1973 and down nearly 9 percent from a year ago.

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