Scurry County’s unemployment rate in November was below the state and national rates, according to figures released by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) today.
The county had an unemployment rate of 3.4 percent in November, which was below the Texas rate of 3.8 percent and the national rate of 3.9 percent.
Scurry County had 6,813 people in the workforce in November and 234 were classified as unemployed. In November 2016, the county had an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent when 7,361 people were in the workforce and 354 were unemployed.
The county gained 44 jobs in November compared to October. In October 2017, the county had 6,769 people in the workforce with 217 unemployed. which led to a 2017-low unemployment rate of 3.2 percent.
Andrews and Kent counties had the lowest unemployment rate in the region in November at 2.7 percent, followed by Borden and Garza counties at 2.8 percent.
Mitchell County had the highest unemployment rate at 4.8 percent.
Other county totals were Fisher, 3.1 percent; Coke, 3.3 percent; Nolan, 3.3 percent; Howard, 3.7 percent; and Dawson, 4.1 percent.
Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.8 percent was the lowest on file in four decades.
The state economy added 54,500 seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs in November. Annual employment growth for Texas increased to 2.7 percent in November, marking 91 consecutive months of annual growth.
“The addition of 330,600 jobs over the year demonstrates the consistency with which employers in our state create job opportunities for the highly skilled Texas workforce,” said TWC Chairman Andres Alcantar said in a press release. “The Texas economy offers employers access to a competitive workforce and provides job seekers with career options in a variety of growing Texas industries.”
The Amarillo and Midland Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) recorded the month’s lowest unemployment rate among Texas MSAs with a non-seasonally adjusted rate of 2.6 percent, followed by the Austin-Round Rock, College Station-Bryan and Lubbock MSAs with a rate of 2.7 percent.
The San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA registered a rate of 3 percent for November.