Dallas Fed: Texas added 16,200 jobs in January; unemployment rates rose in eight of nine major metro areas

For immediate release: March 9, 2015

DALLAS—Texas employment grew at an annualized pace of 1.7 percent, or 16,200 jobs, in January, according to seasonally adjusted and benchmarked payroll employment numbers released today by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

The state added a revised 40,700 jobs in December. In 2014, Texas added 388,600 jobs, an annualized growth rate of 3.4 percent.

Unemployment rates rose in eight of nine major Texas metro areas in January, according to seasonally adjusted numbers from the Dallas Fed. The largest rise in unemployment rates was seen in Brownsville–Harlingen (7.4 percent in January from 7.2 percent in December), El Paso (5.7 percent in January from 5.5 percent in December) and Laredo (4.5 percent in January from 4.3 percent in December).

The Dallas Fed improves the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) payroll employment estimates for Texas by incorporating preliminary benchmarks into the data in a more timely manner and by using a two-step seasonal adjustment technique. Texas metropolitan area unemployment rates from the BLS also are seasonally adjusted by the Dallas Fed.

The Dallas Fed also offers seasonally adjusted employment data by industry at the state and metro levels for Texas.

Next Release Date: March 27

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Media contact:
Alex Johnson
Phone: (214) 922-5288
Email: alexander.johnson@dal.frb.org