Unemployment drops in Central Texas

May 22, 2009

Austin American-Statesman

While the national job market remains challenging, figures released Friday morning from the Texas Workforce Commission show that the local economy is still showing small signs of improvement.

The Austin and Round Rock region continued to add jobs during April, and its unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent from 6.2 percent in March.

The Texas Workforce Commission also said Friday that the region’s annual growth rate was 0.4 percent for the second month in a row. That works out to 3,480 jobs gained between April 2008 and April 2009.

The local unemployment rate is still much higher than it was a year ago however, when it was 3.5 percent.

The statewide unemployment rate was unchanged in April at 6.7 percent, but above a the 4.6 percent rate reached the same month a year ago. However, the state’s jobless rate for April remains well below the national rate of 8.9 percent last month.

The state lost 39,500 jobs in April, however. And it’s lost 173,900 jobs in the past year.

“While the Texas unemployment rate remains substantially lower than the national rate, it is of real concern that Texans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own are having a difficult time finding employment,” said Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken in a statement. “Continued unemployment claims remain much higher than a year ago.”