Austin stays steady, unemployment stagnates

​​AUSTIN - The job market maintained its healthy pace of payroll growth in September 2016, and the area’s jobless rate held steady, according to data released by the Texas Workforce Commission​​.

The jobless rate for the Austin metro area was 3.5 percent.

Central Texas employers had 28,600 more people on their payrolls in September 2016 compared to the same month a year ago, a 3 percent annual growth rate.

For the Austin region, area construction payrolls expanded by 4,800 jobs year-over-year in September 2016. That’s an 8.6 percent growth rate and marking the region’s fastest job growth since September 2015.

The area’s professional and business services sector added 6,000 jobs on an annual basis, a 3.7 percent growth rate over the past 12 months. 

Another fast-growing sector for the region, financial services, added 3,200 jobs for a 5.9 percent gain.