HOUSTON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, lost about 25,000 jobs in September in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which slammed into the Texas Gulf Coast in August, authorities said Friday.
The overall losses come from sectors that were particularly hard hit by the storm that shut down, damaged or destroyed thousands of businesses across the region, said the Texas Workforce Commission.
The report showed that 23,400 jobs were eliminated last month in restaurants and hotels in the state of Texas, the biggest drop of any sector. Retailers shed 6,500 positions in Texas.
However, the report showed over the past 12 months, the state of Texas where Houston is located, added 256,100 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, a 2.1 percent year-over-year gain.
The state unemployment rate dipped to 4 percent in September, down from 4.2 percent in August. The U.S. jobless rate was 4.2 percent in September.
Harvey blew ashore on Aug. 25 as the most powerful hurricane hitting Texas in more than 50 years, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and damaging some 200,000 homes in a path of destruction that stretched for more than 500 km. The Houston area has been devastated by severe flooding, after receiving 1.4 meters of rain.
