HispanicBusiness

The Texas unemployment rate dipped a fourth straight month in December, falling to a seasonally adjusted 6.1 percent as the state's employers added only 4,100 jobs but the workforce shrank slightly.

In the past year the state jobless rate is down more than 1 percentage point and employers have added 260,800 jobs, the Texas Workforce Commission said today.

In Fort Worth-Arlington, the jobless rate rose in December to 5.9 percent from 5.7 percent in November. Those figures are not adjusted for seasonal fluctuations. The unadjusted Texas rate is 6 percent for December and 5.8 percent for November.

Statewide, professional and business services added 13,300 jobs, manufacturing added 3,000 jobs and mining, the category that includes oil and gas production, added 1,600 jobs in December. Those gains were offset by losses in government, construction, and leisure and hospitality.

Midland, at 3.1 percent, and Odessa at 3.7 percent enjoyed the lowest jobless rates, reflecting the Permian Basin's continuing oil activity. The Brownsville-Harlingen metropolitan area, joined by McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, had the highest rates, with both at 10.3 percent.