From the Dallas Business Journal by Bill Hethcock
Texas has added 371,000 jobs in the past year, including 19,100 in June, and the unemployment rate in the Dallas-Fort Worth area continues to fall. The unemployment rate in Dallas-Fort Worth dropped to 5.4 percent compared to 6.7 percent a year ago, according to figures released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission. The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent in June from 6.4 percent a year ago. Texas’ unemployment rate remained below the nation’s June unemployment rate of 6.1 percent. The jobs statistics released by the commission came the same day that yetanother California company announced plans to relocate its headquarters and hundreds of jobs to North Texas. Fleet management software company Omnitracs LLC will move its headquarters to Dallas from San Diego, creating 450 jobs. Those jobs and more than 5,000 others in North Texas announced by Toyota and other companies over the past few months don’t count in the current statistics, but will be tallied in future jobs reports. Statewide, seven of 11 major industries in Texas showed employment gains over the past month, led by an increase of 7,700 jobs in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. Education and health services added 7,400 jobs statewide in June, bringing its 12-month gain to 52,600 jobs. That sector, which includes positions in scientific and technical fields, has an annual growth rate of 3.6 percent, the highest since June 2010.