Jobless rate in S.A. stays at 3.1 percent

Dallas Fed reports the situation is the same in most big Texas cities

San Antonio’s unemployment rate — 3.1 percent — held steady for the second straight month, close to historic lows, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported.

Before this year, San Antonio hadn’t seen an unemployment rate below 3.1 percent since 1999.

Statewide, job creation slowed in August, with 19,600 seasonally adjusted jobs added, compared with 31,600 jobs in July.

Even so, unemployment rates in seven of the nine major Texas metro areas in August all were unchanged, the Dallas Fed said.

“I think we saw statewide a little bit of softening in the growth number, but that’s coming off a really strong June and July,” said Chris Slijk, an assistant economist at the Dallas Fed. “A little bit of a cooling was to be expected.”

Statewide, the unemployment rate remained at a record low 3.4 percent for the third straight month, and Texas has seen greater job growth over the past year than every state but California, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

State job growth was greatest in the education and health services industries, which added a combined 8,800 jobs. The government sector added 3,400 jobs, while financial services added 3,200 jobs in August.

The nationwide unemployment also has held firm at 3.7 percent for the past three months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

But that low unemployment rate and strong statewide job creation continues to make it difficult for businesses trying to hire workers.

“We continue to hear from business contacts from around the state that they’re having trouble finding workers,” Slijk said.

In the Dallas Fed’s business outlook survey, Slijk said businesses have expressed some concern about political and trade uncertainty, which may temper growth moving forward.

Texas job growth this year is 2.3 percent, just down from the 2.4 percent last year.

“We’ll see growth continue along slightly above our longterm trend, and maybe a little bit weaker than what we thought,” Slijk said.