County unemployment rate remains below 4 percent

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Scurry County’s unemployment rate was below 4 percent for the second straight month, according to figures released by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) today.
The September unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, down from 3.9 percent in August. The commission’s figures showed the county had 8,950 people in the workforce in September and 342 of those were unemployed. Last month, the county had 8,938 people in the workforce with 353 classified as unemployed.
In September 2014, the county’s unemployment rate was 3.1 percent when 305 of the 9,872 people in the workforce were unemployed.
Kent County has the lowest rate in the region at 2.5 percent, followed by Andrews, Borden and Garza counties at 3.2 percent. Mitchell County has the highest rate at 5.6 percent.
Other county totals are Fisher, 3.9 percent; Nolan, 4 percent; Coke, 4.1 percent; Howard, 4.5 percent; and Dawson, 4.7 percent.
The state added jobs for the seventh straight month in 2015. Texas added 26,600 non-farm seasonally adjusted jobs as it rebounded from a revised decrease of 3,400 jobs in August.
Over the past 12 months, Texas employers have added 224,800 jobs since September 2014.
“With the Texas economy continuing to generate a steady growth of jobs, our employers and jobseekers have a definite competitive advantage when seeking the many opportunities available in our Lone Star State,” said TWC Chairman Andres Alcantar.  “Such opportunities are reflected across the diverse mix of industries that have created 224,800 jobs over the past year.”
Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.2 percent in September. In August, the rate was 4.1 percent.
The state continues to trend below the national rate of 5.1 percent.
The Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) recorded the month’s lowest unemployment rate among Texas MSAs with a non-seasonally adjusted rate of 3.1 percent. The Midland MSA and the Austin-Round Rock MSA each posted a rate of 3.3 percent in September.