Texas breaks record for jobs added in 12-month span

Texas created enough jobs last month to help the state set a 12-month record.

The Texas economy added 36,400 jobs in September, according to data released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission. Over the past 12 months, employers added 413,700 jobs — the most ever recorded by the state.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent in September, down from 5.3 percent in August. A year ago, the rate was 6.3 percent.

“We’re having a broad -based increase in job growth in Texas, and sooner or later we’re going to have to see wage increases,” said Trinity University economist David Macpherson.

Those strong September numbers preceded the recent decline in oil prices and the Ebola outbreak in Dallas, but economists said those occurrences aren’t expected to affect the Texas job market. More