Texas at 6.8% Unemployment; Austin 5.3%

October 19, 2012 3:32 pm by: Nathan Bernier

Unemployment rates in Austin and Texas alike continue to fall. Photo courtesy flickr.com/sarahbelle1

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The unemployment rate in Texas saw its biggest one-month drop in nearly two decades in September.

Statewide, the jobless rate fell from 7.1 percent in August to 6.8 percent in September. That was the result of an additional 21,000 jobs.

Here in Austin, the unemployment rate fell from 5.9 percent to 5.3 percent. That rate doesn’t account for seasonal changes in employment. Still, Texas Workforce Commission spokesperson Lisa Givens says the Austin area added 3,000 jobs last month, largely in fields including education, health services and government jobs.

The decline in the state unemployment rate was part of a broader national trend, as 41 states saw their jobless rates decline in September.

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