The State Added Jobs Overall but Austin Lost Some From the Previous Month

 Texas added thousands of jobs in July and outpaced the national average, in terms of job growth — trends that signal the state’s economy remains relatively strong even as tariffs and other issues rattle business leaders and consumers.

 Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, “we still saw growth across the state, and that was really encouraging,” said Matt Patton, executive vice president of Angelou Economics in Austin. “So that says something about the relative reliability of the Texas economy to see growth amidst national (and) global uncertainty — people still saw an opportunity in Texas.”

 The state added 8,700 jobs in July to bring its total nonfarm job count to roughly 14.34 million, according to the July jobs report from the Texas Workforce Commission published Aug. 15. Since the start of the year Texas has added 232,500 jobs, with nonfarm jobs increasing 1.6%, a growth rate that outpaces the national rate of 0.6%.

 The TWC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

 Still, the latest report wasn’t all roses. The unemployment rate in the Austin metro, unadjusted for seasonal factors, inched up by a sliver from 3.4% in June to register 3.5% in July. In addition, the metro had 10,300 fewer jobs in July compared to June, according to the TWC.

 A number of layoffs have been announced in the Austin area in recent months. They include job cuts by Indeed Inc. and Intel Corp. in July, although it generally takes a few months for fresh layoffs to be reflected in a region’s unemployment rate.

 But despite the one-month reduction in Austin area jobs, the roughly 1.46 million people employed here in July was about 8,000 more than in the same month a year ago. In addition, the metro’s July unemployment rate of 3.5% was lower than its year-ago rate of 3.8%, as well as the state’s July unadjusted unemployment rate of 4.2%

 Patton describes Austin’s unemployment rate as “relatively low” and said the slight rise from June could be reflective of a balanced job market, in which job openings and job seekers have achieved equilibrium. He said he doesn’t view the current trends in the local job market as concerning.

 “You just can’t grow at an exponential rate all the time,” Patton said. “That would be kind of nuts if we were always growing in double-digit percent, especially when we start thinking about the number of people that are already here.”

 Patton said recent announcements and investments in the semiconductor and manufacturing industry in Austin also indicate the region’s job market is well positioned in the long run. In recent weeks Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Tesla Inc. inked a $16.5 billion semiconductor supplying agreement, and Apple Inc. said Austin would be a key part of its plan to invest $600 billion into its U.S. manufacturing efforts.

 What do the national jobs numbers look like?

 The TWC produces its monthly jobs numbers “in cooperation” with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reported the U.S. added 73,000 jobs and pegged the national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 4.2%.

 The BLS July jobs report garnered significant attention because the bureau also issued big revisions for its May and June reports that cut down the number of jobs added by 258,000 combined — drawing the ire of President Donald Trump.

 After the July BLS jobs report was issued, Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the BLS commissioner in charge of the jobs reports. Trump accused McEntarfer, without evidence, of rigging the reports for political reasons.

 Patton said the BLS numbers are very reliable and trusted by economic experts, and he noted that it’s standard practice to revise past jobs reports.

 “Why do those revisions take place?” Patton said. “I don’t think anyone thinks it’s anything other than more data comes in, so you update the numbers.”

 Trump has nominated E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, to replace McEntarfer. Antoni had floated the idea of suspending the monthly BLS jobs reports while the methodology of comprising them was scrutinized. According to CNN, however, Antoni has told people close to him that he will continue publishing the monthly reports if he’s confirmed by the Senate.

 Patton said it’s important to have monthly jobs numbers because they provide insight regarding the economy’s performance, helping economists and businesses make predictions and plan for the future.

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Written by Sean Hemmersmeier for Austin Business Journal