Austin lost 5,700 jobs in July

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA lost 5,700 jobs last month lowering yet the unemployment rate decreased by 10 basis points from last month to 7.3%, down from its peak of 7.6% in January 2010.  The total number of non-agricultural employment in the MSA grew to 765,800 indicating a relatively strong annual growth rate of 2.5% making Austin the strongest performing Metro in the U.S.  Finally, Austin's unemployment rate of 7.3% is still below the state (8.5%) and the national (9.7%) unemployment rates.