HOUSTON, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The unemployment rate in Houston metropolitan area shot up to 8.8 percent in January 2010, the highest during the on-going recession or an increase of 0.6 percentage points higher than December, an authorized agency reported on Thursday.
With that rate, Houston area has seen the highest unemployment rate among the five largest metropolitan areas in Texas, including Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort-Worth, said Texas Workforce Commission, a state government agency in charge of overseeing and providing work development services to employers and job seekers in Texas.
The state agency said unemployment rate in Austin area hit an average 7.6 percent, Dallas-Ft. Worth area 8.7 percent, and San Antonio with a regional rate of about 7.7 percent in January, all up from the December unemployment rates.
Statewide, Texas seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent in January, unchanged from a revised 8.2 percent in December.
Experts are trying to figure out reasons behind the considerable increase of unemployment rates in Texas largest metropolitan areas in January.
Retail sales saw the biggest declines in January from December, primarily from businesses that bulked up for the holidays.
That is because companies usually shed their seasonal workers after the holiday season and the rate jumps in January since local data are not adjusted for seasonal variations, said Joel Wagher, labor market analyst for Workforce Solutions, which manages employment services and training for Houston area.
"There is no job engine," Wagher said. "The bowl of the unemployed continues to fill up without a spigot to empty it."
Even with an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent, the Lone Star State is still faring better than most other states of the nation, the Texas Workforce Commission said, adding that the seasonally adjusted U.S. unemployment rate stands at 9.7 percent.
Texas economy continues to draw nationwide attention. An earlier survey shows that San Antonio and six other metropolitan areas in Texas are expected to be among the first to emerge from the current economic recession across the country.
According to Texas Workforce Commission, one reason behind the expectation is that the state has created more private sector jobs than any other states in the nation over the last 10 years, resulting in the lowest unemployment rate among the 10 largest states of the nation.
