Texas Adds Jobs for the 11th Straight Month

With the addition of 2,100 nonfarm jobs in February, Texas has now expanded its seasonally adjusted employment for 11 consecutive months.

“Texas gained 170,900 jobs over the past year,” said Texas Workforce Commissioner (TWC) Chairman Andres Alcantar. “We continue to build local partnerships to equip the current and future workforce with the skills needed for the jobs being created by Texas employers.”

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent in February, down from 4.5 percent in January, and remained below the national average of 4.9 percent.

“Private employers have expanded their payrolls by 142,800 jobs in Texas over the past year,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Ruth R. Hughs. “We are pleased to see that trend continue because it reflects the strength and resiliency of our state’s economy.”

Texas saw employment growth in seven of the 11 major industries, including increases in all but one of the Service Providing industries. Some of those gains were offset by losses in Goods Producing industries.

Employment in the Education and Health Services industry was up in February with the addition of 6,100 jobs, continuing this industry’s upward trend for 37 consecutive months. Solid growth also continued in Trade, Transportation and Utilities which added 5,500 jobs over the month and recorded a 2.3 percent annual growth rate.

“For those job seekers looking for their next employment opportunity, I encourage you to register with WorkInTexas.com, our job-matching website where you’ll find nearly 240,000 job openings and more being added every day,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Julian Alvarez.”

The Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) recorded the month’s lowest unemployment rate among Texas MSAs with a not seasonally adjusted rate of 2.9 percent, followed by the Austin-Round Rock with a rate of 3.1 percent in February.

Audio downloads with comments from Commissioner Alvarez on the latest labor market data are available on the TWC website press release page. Employment estimates released by TWC are produced in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. All estimates are subject to revision. To access this and more employment data, visit tracer2.com.