The April unemployment rate of 6.3 percent compared with 6.6 percent in March. In numeric terms, 176,700 people were without jobs compared with 183,500 in March. In April 2008, the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, with 107,400 people without jobs.

The leisure and hospitality sector showed the largest jobs gain, adding 1,500 jobs in April, while the professional and business services sector took the biggest hit, shedding 5,600 jobs. That was followed by manufacturing, which lost 2,100 jobs, and construction, which was down 1,900 jobs.
For Texas as a whole, the unemployment rate held steady in April at 6.7 percent, well below the national unemployment rate of 8.9 percent.