Report: Houston faring better on employment

Houston Business Journal

  The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area recorded the largest over-the-year nonfarm employment increase in the United States in January with 17,200 new jobs, according to a report released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics .

The area was followed by Oklahoma City, with more than 7,000 new jobs; Austin-Round Rock with 6,600; Champaign-Urbana, Ill. with 4,700; and Anchorage, Ala. with 3,900.

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown had a January 2009 civilian labor force of 2.8 million, up from 2.7 million during the same month last year.

Unemployment in January 2009 was 6.5 percent with 183,000 people recorded as being jobless, compared with 4.6 percent and 125,900 people in January 2008.

Out of the 372 metropolitan areas followed by the bureau, 14 areas — 10 of them in California — recorded jobless rates of at least 15 percent, while 23 areas registered rates below 5 percent.

El Centro, Calif. had the highest unemployment rate in the country at 24.2 percent, followed by Merced, Calif. with 18.9 percent and Elkhart-Goshen, Ind. with 18.3 percent.

Thibodaux, La. had the lowest jobless rate in January at 3.7 percent.

Three areas in Texas, including the Houston area, were the only large areas experiencing over-the-year percentage gains in employment. Austin-Round Rock had a 0.9 percent increase, while Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown had 0.7 percent and San Antonio had 0.2 percent.

The national unemployment rate in January was 8.5 percent (not seasonally adjusted), up from 5.4 percent in January 2008.