Construction worker Mike Vallance, center, watches as rock flies from the augur the crew is using to drill 55 ft. deep piers for the new White Rock Dog Launch in the 8000 block of Mockingbird Lane in Dallas, Texas on September 9, 2014. (Robert W. Hart/Special Contributor)
Texas created enough new jobs last month to help the state set a 12-month job growth record.
The Texas economy added 36,400 jobs in September, according to data released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission.
The state added 413,700 jobs over the past 12 months, the most ever recorded by the state.
The unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent in September, down from 5.3 percent in August. A year ago, the rate was 6.3 percent.
Several companies surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas responded that labor market tightness continued, according to the Fed’s Beige Book, which came out Wednesday. Several contacts told the Fed that they are experiencing upward wage pressures. Staffing services firms said candidates were often receiving multiple offers, which caused some firms to increase wages to stay competitive, the report said.
Last month was also the first time the state’s labor force topped 13 million in September.
Nine of 11 major industries posted job gains, led by leisure and hospitality with 9,300 jobs added in September. Manufacturing lost 2,700 jobs since August and financial services declined by 200 jobs. All major jobs categories are up from a year ago.
The next biggest job gains in September from the prior month were posted by government (7,200), construction (5,400) and mining (5,000).
September preceded the recent decline in oil prices and the Ebola outbreak in Dallas. It’s not clear how those occurrences might impact Texas from a jobs perspective.
Speaking of oil, Midland had the lowest September unemployment rate among Texas cities at 2.6 percent. Other west Texas towns also had low rates: Odessa, 3.1 percent, and Amarillo, 3.6 percent.
The Dallas-Fort Worth unemployment rate fell to 5 percent from 5.5 percent in August. Houston’s metro jobless rate also fell to 4.9 percent in September from 5.4 percent in August.
A year ago, the release of the state’s September job report and other national economic data were delayed several weeks because of the government shutdown.