According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA gained 2,000 jobs last month lowering the unemployment rate to 6.9%, down from its peak of 7.6% in January 2010. This is well below the 5,000 job growth projection made in last month’s Job Growth update blog. The total number of non-agricultural employment in the MSA grew to 767,700 indicating an annual growth rate of 0.5%. Out of the total jobs gained, Leisure and Hospitality significantly beat other industries adding 2,600 jobs. Financial Activities also saw a modest gain of 600 jobs. Conversely, the Government sector lost 1,100 jobs and the Professional and Business services lost 800 jobs. All other industries increased or decreased by no more than 300 jobs. While the overall gains may seem positive, they are in line with seasonal patterns. Next month, we should expect to see a loss of around 500 jobs based on the last few years’ figures. Finally, Austin's unemployment rate of 6.9% is still below the state (8.0%) and the national (9.3%) unemployment rates.
