Texas adds 24,900 jobs in December – DFW jobless rate falls

By Lance Murray | Dallas Business Journal

The state of Texas added 24,900 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in December, the 10th straight month of job increases in the state, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

That was the good news. The bad news is that the state’s unemployment rate rose to 4.7 percent, up from 4.6 percent in November. That’s still below the national average of 5 percent.

“Texas finished 2015 on a strong note in December with employers adding 166,900 jobs over the year across a diverse range of industries,” TWC Chairman Andres Alcantar said in the news release.

According to the TWC, professional and business services employment saw an additional 12,500 jobs in December, that sector’s largest over-the-month gain since November 2014.

The second largest employment gain over the month was the Education and Health Services industry, which saw 7,400 jobs added.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area recorded an unemployment rate in December of 3.7 percent, which was down from 4 percent in November and in December 2014.

Read original article at Dallas Business Journal.