By Ali Anari
Texas’ economy is cooling. The state gained 204,800 nonagricultural jobs from October 2014 to October 2015, an annual growth rate of 1.7 percent, lower than the nation’s growth rate of 1.9 percent. The nongovernment sector added 181,900 jobs, an annual growth rate of 1.8 percent compared with 2.2 percent for the nation’s private sector.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent in October 2015 from 4.7 percent in October 2014. The nation’s rate decreased from 5.7 to 5 percent.
All Texas industries except mining and logging and manufacturing had more jobs in October 2015 than in October 2014. The state’s leisure and hospitality industry ranked first in job creation followed by education and health services, professional and business services, information and trade.
All Texas metro areas except Wichita Falls and Texarkana had more jobs in October 2015 than in October 2014. San Antonio-New Braunfels ranked first in job creation, followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Austin-Round Rock, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission and Victoria.
The state’s actual unemployment rate in October 2015 was 4.5 percent. Amarillo had the lowest unemployment rate, followed by Austin-Round Rock, Lubbock, College Station-Bryan, Midland and San Antonio-New Braunfels.
