TEXAS ECONOMY STILL GOING STRONG
COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) - Texas nonfarm employment rose 2.3
percent from February 2007 to February 2008 compared with the less than 1
percent annual growth rate of nonfarm employment for the United States as a
whole.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 4.5 percent in
February 2007 to 4.1 percent in February 2008.
Higher oil prices continue to help the state’s oil and natural gas industry.
The state’s mining industry ranked first in job creation, followed by the
leisure and hospitality industry, construction, professional and business
services, and education and health services industry.
All Texas metro areas except Beaumont-Port Arthur experienced positive
February-to-February employment growth rates. Odessa ranked first in job
creation followed by Midland, Waco, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, and
Longview. Midland had the lowest unemployment rate February 2008 followed by
Odessa, Amarillo, Lubbock, and College Station-Bryan.
Click here to view the report. <http://recenter.tamu.edu/econ/>
chadjewell @ April 7, 2008