Austin job market rebounds in Oct. 2012

AUSTIN – Employers in the Austin metro area added about 6,100 positions in October 2012 boosting the region’s annual job-creation rate to 3.5 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. That’s the fastest pace the region has posted since February 2008.

A surge of hiring in the education and health care services sector, a jump in construction jobs and continued labor demand from Austin’s high-tech employers has fueled the expansion.

The growth has helped drop the regional unemployment rate to 5.3 percent in October 2012, down from 5.4 percent in September 2012 and well off the 6.6 percent rate in October 2011.

Statewide, Texas also continued its strong track record of job creation, adding 36,600 positions — double the average gain of the past five Octobers. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked down to 6.6 percent, down from 6.8 percent in September 2012 and 7.8 percent in October 2011.

Read more at the Austin American-Statesman.