Texas surpasses pre-pandemic employment high, adding 75,000 jobs in November

Texas added 75,100 nonfarm jobs in November, the ninth consecutive month of job growth, and total employment finally surpassed the high-water mark set before the pandemic arrived almost two years ago.

The state reported 12.998 million jobs in November, about 28,000 more than in February 2020, according to data from the Texas Workforce Commission.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.2%, a decline of 0.2 percentage points from October, the commission said. Just before the pandemic, in February 2020, Texas’ unemployment rate was 3.7%.

The state reported job gains in all major categories in November. Professional and business services, which have often led the recovery, added 22,900 positions.

Leisure and hospitality, which includes the hard-hit restaurant and hotel industry, added 12,500 jobs. Financial activities, a strength of the Dallas-Plano-Irving metro division, had 9,300 net additions.

Mining and logging, which includes the rebounding oil and gas business, added 3,700 positions. And construction added 3,600, according to the workforce commission.

Government and manufacturing were among the slowest-growing sectors. Government added 1,700 jobs, an increase of 0.1% from October, and manufacturing added 1,700 jobs, an increase of 0.2%, the commission said.

The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Dallas-Plano-Irving fell to 3.9% in November, down from 4.1% in October. Fort Worth-Arlington’s November unemployment rate was 4.0%.

In the combined Dallas-Fort Worth metro, 165,500 people were unemployed last month, a decline of 8,300 from October, not seasonally adjusted.

Amarillo had the lowest not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate among Texas metros at 3.1%, followed by Austin at 3.2%. McAllen’s unemployment rate was 7.7% and Beaumont’s was 7.4%, the commission reported.