Texas adds more jobs in May, sees unemployment rate drop to 4.8 percent
The Texas unemployment rate slipped to 4.8 percent in May as job growth continued to rebound, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday.
The state added 14,800 nonfarm jobs, and last month’s jobless figure is down from the 5 percent statewide rate in April, according to a TWC statement. But that’s still higher that the nationwide unemployment rate, which was at 4.3 percent in May.
In a separate report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said Texas added 24,500 jobs in May. The Fed said jobs in the state have now grown by 2.5 percent year-to-date compared to 1.2 percent in 2016, when a slump in oil prices led to a slowdown in the economy.
The Dallas Fed now projects that the state will add 309,200 jobs by year’s end.
“Job growth has been quite robust over the first five months of the year, averaging 2.5 percent,” said Keith R. Phillips, Dallas Fed assistant vice president and senior economist, in a statement. “With the recent uptick in the leading index and sustained recovery in the energy and manufacturing sectors, we expect this good pace of growth to continue in the second half of the year.”
Unemployment fell in seven of nine major metro areas in April, but was flat in Fort Worth-Arlington, the Fed reported.
Amarillo had the lowest unemployment in Texas last month at 3.1 percent. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area had the state’s highest jobless rate during May at 7.5 percent, TWC officials said. The Fort Worth-Arlington jobless rate held steady at 3.8 percent.
“Texas employers created 266,600 jobs over the past year and the Texas economy continues to provide competitive advantages to large and small business owners across the state,” said Andres Alcantar, TWC chairman.
Mining and logging recorded the largest private-industry gain in Texas over the month with 6,600 jobs added, according to the commission. Construction employment grew by 3,400 jobs statewide in May. Financial activities employment expanded by 3,200 jobs in Texas.
Manufacturing across Texas expanded by 1,800 jobs last month, officials said.
Staff writer Steve Kaskovich contributed to this report which includes material from The Associated Press.
This story was originally published June 16, 2017 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Texas adds more jobs in May, sees unemployment rate drop to 4.8 percent."