New service-related jobs offset oil industry losses

​​COLLEGE STATION – The Texas economy continues to create more jobs despite lower oil prices. Job gains in the service-providing industries are offsetting job losses in the mining and manufacturing industries.

According to the Real Estate Center’s latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy, the state’s economy gained 284,000 nonagricultural jobs from July 2014 to July 2015, an annual growth rate of 2.5 percent compared with 2.1 percent for the United States. The nongovernment sector added 268,400 jobs, an annual growth rate of 2.7 percent compared with 2.4 percent for the nation’s private sector.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent last month from 5 percent a year ago. The nation’s rate decreased from 6.2 to 5.3 percent.

All Texas industries except mining and logging and manufacturing had more jobs. The state’s leisure and hospitality industry ranked first in job creation followed by education and health services, professional and business services, and transportation, warehousing and utilities.

All Texas metro areas except Wichita Falls had more jobs. Beaumont-Port Arthur ranked first in job creation, followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Victoria, Austin-Round Rock, Odessa and Laredo.

The state’s actual unemployment rate was 4.6 percent. Midland had the lowest unemployment rate, followed by Amarillo, Austin-Round Rock, Lubbock and San Antonio-New Braunfels.