TX Unemployment Rises To 4.5%, El Paso Below Double-Digits

DALLAS (AP) – The statewide unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in December, its highest level in 10 months and a sign of slowing in the regional economy.

Figures released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission showed that the number of job hunters swamped a modest increase in hiring in Texas, pushing unemployment up from 4.2 percent in November.

Still, the December jobless rate remained low by historical standards. Unemployment in Texas dipped to 4.1 percent, a 31-year low, at times last year.

The national unemployment rate in December was 5 percent, a two-year high and a major reason that President Bush, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and members of Congress are talking about tax cuts or other measures to boost the economy in an election year.

The Texas commission said seasonally adjusted non-farm employment in Texas grew by 18,600 jobs in December.

That was an improvement from weak November numbers, and Chairwoman Diane Rath said it was twice the national rate, although still below the increases of earlier months.

“This isn’t great news, but it’s not clear that we’re definitely going to have a recession either,” said Michael L. Davis, an economics professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Davis said oil prices of about $100 per barrel “will support the oil patch, and we added 1,300 construction jobs, which strikes me as pretty good given what’s going on in the housing market.”

Midland, helped by the boom in oil and gas exploration and production, continued to have the lowest unemployment in the state at 2.7 percent, unchanged in several months. Neighboring Odessa, along with the Panhandle cities of Amarillo and Lubbock, held their runner-up status at 3.2 percent.

At the other end of the scale, unemployment jumped to 6.6 percent in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area, up from 5.9 percent in November. Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-Harlingen and El Paso were close to 6 percent.

The statewide numbers were adjusted for seasonal trends in hiring and firing, which most economists believe gives a better picture of the job market.

But local figures are not seasonally adjusted. Professional and business services added 8,900 jobs in December, and government hiring helped too, as education and health services added 5,800 jobs, according to the commission.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits in Texas declined 4.3 percent, to 57,364 from 59,943 in November.

Following are the preliminary December jobless rates for local areas in Texas, with revised November figures in parentheses. The figures are not seasonally adjusted. The statewide unadjusted jobless rate was 4.3 percent in December, up from 4.1 percent in November.

Abilene 3.5 (3.5) Amarillo 3.2 (3.2) Austin-Round Rock 3.6 (3.5) Beaumont-Port Arthur 5.9 (5.3) Brownsville-Harlingen 5.9 (5.6) College Station-Bryan 3.3 (3.4) Corpus Christi 4.4 (4.2) Dallas-Plano-Irving 4.2 (4.1) El Paso 5.6 (5.4) Fort Worth-Arlington 4.1 (4.0) Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown 4.2 (4.0) Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood 4.7 (4.6) Laredo 4.6 (4.5) Longview 4.0 (3.8) Lubbock 3.2 (3.2) McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 6.6 (5.9) Midland 2.7 (2.7) Odessa 3.2 (3.2) San Angelo 3.5 (3.5) San Antonio 4.0 (3.9) Sherman-Denison 4.6 (4.4) Texarkana 4.7 (4.6) Tyler 4.4 (4.0) Victoria 3.6 (3.5) Waco 4.0 (4.0) Wichita Falls 4.0 (3.9)

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)