AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Teaxs' unemployment rate fell to 7.2 percent in December, according to new data released by the Texas Workforce Commission on Friday.
It's a decline from November's 8.1 percent, with Texas employers adding a total of 64,200 non-agricultural jobs over the month - the eighth straight month of job growth across the state.
The Austin area unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent, down 0.8 percent from November 2020. While the rate is still more than double the December 2019 rate of 2.4 percent, the Austin area does have the third-lowest unemployment rate of any metro area in the state, bested only by Amarillo and Bryan-College Station.
"The private sector job growth we saw in December is promising," TWC Chairman Bryan Daniel said in a statement. "TWC continues to dedicate significant resources for Texans looking for new jobs and for Texas employers working to fill open jobs."