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Seasonally Adjusted Nonagri-cultural Employment in Texas grew by 15,100 jobs in Sept-ember. Over the year, Texas employers have added 142,500 jobs in all nine major industry sectors, for an annual growth rate of 1.5 percent. The September unemployment rate of 5.7 percent for the state represented a six-tenths of a percentage point increase from the August rate of 5.1 percent, but was below September 2004, when the unemployment rate was 6.0 percent. Because Texas' employment and unemployment statistics are affected by regional occurrences in accordance with the new Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) methodology introduced in January 2005, the recent hurricanes may have affected the monthly unemployment rate. Job growth remains the best indicator of a strong economy, said Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Chair Diane Rath. After the unprecedented impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Texas experienced an in-crease in the unemployment rate. We will get a clearer picture of the storms' effects on the rates in the coming months. |
