by SHEFALI LUTHRA
The Texas Tribune
Texas added 12,900 nonfarming jobs in June, placing the unemployment rate at 7 percent — virtually no different from the 6.9 percent reported for May, according to statistics released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission.
The month continues a trend of relative stagnation in the state’s unemployment rate, with little change from the 7.3 percent unemployment reported for January. The rate is still well below the national average of 8.2 percent.
The highest unemployment rate in the state is 12 percent, in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area. The lowest, 4.3 percent, is in Midland.
Texas’ private sector has added 287,800 jobs since last year, when the unemployment rate was 8.1 percent. That translates to a growth rate of 3.2 percent, compared with the national growth rate of 1.8 percent.
The largest increase was seen in construction, which added 9,600 jobs. The education and health industries added 3,400 jobs.
“For nearly two years, employers in Texas have expanded their payrolls and kept the economic engine of Texas moving forward,” said Andres Alcantar, chairman of the workforce commission. Alcantar was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in May.
The current Texas workforce consists of about 13 million people, according to TWC statistics.
The statistics did not account for change in public sector jobs – in May, the state’s government job total decreased by 16.4 percent. Over the past year, the public sector has lost 51,300 jobs, a decline resulting from the state’s shrinking budget.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune.
