Texas employment starts off strong in 2018

​​​​​​AUSTIN – The Texas economy added a year-long total of 240,500 jobs as of January 2018, according to data from ​the Texas Workforce Commission.

Annual employment growth for the Lone Star State was 2 percent in January, marking 93 consecutive months of annual growth.

Employers added 16,000 nonfarm jobs in January 2018. Mining and logging saw the largest growth since December, adding 3,300 jobs, or 1.4 percent. Employment in information (down 300 jobs) and leisure and hospitality (down 1,700 jobs) both dropped by 0.1 percent. 

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4 percent in January, remaining below the national rate of 4.1 percent. 

Midland-Odessa recorded the lowest unemployment rate among the Texas metros at 2.4 percent. Unemployment was the highest in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission (7.6 percent).​