Texas Adds More Than 16,000 Jobs In November, Greater Houston Close To 5,000

Texas added 16,300 jobs in November, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The state came in second in the nation for jobs added last month, behind Florida. Statewide employment was up 1.5 percent for the twelve months ending in November.

"That rate of growth has definitely slowed this year, and it's actually dipped below the national rate," says Cheryl Abbot, regional economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Dallas. "It is still positive, and we're seeing pretty strong rates of growth in some sectors, but obviously what we're starting to feel pretty big now are the impacts of losses in the oil and gas sector as well as manufacturing."

Construction added more jobs statewide than any other sector last month.

The Houston metro area added 4,800 jobs in November.

"The stores are hiring for the holiday season, and you'll see additional job growth in retail trade in December as well," says Patrick Jankowski, senior vice president of research at the Greater Houston Partnership. "But we also saw jobs [added] in the government sector, and it continues to be adding for educational purposes."

Greater Houston unemployment ticked up in November to a rate of 4.9 percent. Texas' jobless rate also edged up, to 4.6 percent. The national average held steady at 5 percent.