All Texas industries except information see year-over-year job gain in April

​​​COLLEGE STATION – Texas’ pace of job creation continued to exceed the nation’s in April. The state gained 258,900 nonagricultural jobs from April 2016 to April 2017, an annual growth rate of 2.2 percent, higher than the nation’s employment growth rate of 1.6 percent.

The nongovernment sector added 224,300 jobs, an annual growth rate of 2.2 percent, higher than the nation’s employment growth rate of 1.7 percent in the private sector.

According to the Real Estate Center’s latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy, Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April was 5 percent, up from 4.6 percent a year ago 2016. The nation’s rate decreased from 5 to 4.4 percent.

All Texas industries except the information industry had more jobs than a year ago. The transportation, warehousing, and utilities industry ranked first in job creation followed by education and health services, professional and business services, other services, leisure and hospitality, financial activities, and mining and logging.

All Texas metro areas except Wichita Falls, Odessa, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Longview, Victoria, San Angelo, and Texarkana, had more jobs. Dallas-Plano-Irving ranked first in job creation followed by El Paso, Austin-Round Rock, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, San Antonio-New Braunfels, and Laredo.

The state’s actual unemployment rate last month was 4.5 percent. Amarillo had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Austin-Round Rock, College Station-Bryan, Lubbock, Midland, and San Antonio-New Braunfels.​​