Unemployment Rate Down in Texas, Lubbock For August 2013

The unemployment rates for both Texas and the Hub City have dropped.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Texas for August 2013 dipped to 6.4 percent, down from July’s 6.5 percent and August 2012’s 6.8 percent.

The highest annual growth rate among the major industries in Texas was seen in the Mining and Logging sector at 5.5 percent.

“Every major industry in Texas showed positive annual job growth and Texas employers added 274,700 jobs over the year,” said Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Andres Alcantar. “We encourage Texans to visit their local Workforce Solutions office to access the many job search tools available to them free of charge.”

The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the Lubbock Metropolitan Statistical Area for August 2013 dropped to 5.1 percent, down from July’s 5.8 percent and August 2012’s 5.7 percent. The Lubbock MSA contains both Lubbock and Crosby Counties.

Employment woes still plague Hale County following the closure of the Cargill Meat Processing Plant in Plainview earlier this year. The unemployment rate for Hale County dropped to 12 percent, down from July’s 12.6 percent yet still much higher than August 2012’s 6.7 percent.

The lowest unemployment rate in the state is in the Midland MSA at 3.2 percent, and the highest is in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Area at 10.8 percent.

The national unemployment rate is 7.3 percent.