Texas job growth stands at 1.5 percent

​​​COLLEGE STATION – The Real Estate Center’s latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy shows Texas gained 176,600 nonagricultural jobs from July 2015 to July 2016, an annual growth rate of 1.5 percent. That’s lower than the nation’s growth rate of 1.7 percent.

The nongovernment sector added 136,100 jobs, an annual growth rate of 1.4 percent compared with 1.9 percent for the nation’s private sector.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate last month was 4.6 percent, up from 4.4 percent in July 2015. The nation’s rate decreased from 5.3 to 4.9 percent.

All Texas industries except mining and logging, manufacturing, information, and the transportation, warehousing, and utilities industry had more jobs. Leisure and hospitality ranked first in job creation followed by education and health services, financial activities, trade, and the government sector.

All Texas metro areas except Odessa, Midland, Texarkana, and Wichita Falls had more jobs. College Station-Bryan ranked first in job creation followed by Austin-Round Rock, Dallas-Plano-Irving, Laredo, El Paso, and Brownsville-Harlingen.

The state’s actual unemployment rate was 5.1 percent. Amarillo and Austin-Round Rock had the lowest unemployment rate, followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Lubbock, College Station-Bryan, San Antonio-New Braunfels, and Sherman-Denison.