Recently in Unemployment Category

The Texas drought has wracked the state's agricultural industry and cost the economy billions, reports the Austin Statesman.

Texas A&M University estimates that the total economic impact of the severe Texas drought will be $8.7 billion. And the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture reports that 96 percent of Texas pastureland is in poor or very poor condition.

The unemployment numbers are now in for May 2011, with Texas Workforce Commission data revealing that the Houston metro area has an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent. This is slightly higher that the state’s unemployment rate of 8.0 percent, but at least it is far below the national unemployment rate of 9.1 percent.

Houston Chronicle reports that the local unemployment rate for May increased slightly from April’s 8 percent rate of unemployment. However, it should be noted that the Texas jobless rates are adjusted for seasonal variations, such as holiday and school schedules. The reported Houston jobless rate is not seasonally adjusted.

Everything is bigger in Texas, including rates of employment and job growth. According to a Texas Workforce Commission press release, the state added 37,200 new jobs to the workforce in March, dropping the statewide unemployment rate down to 8.1 percent.

This is significantly lower than the national average unemployment rate in March, which was sitting at 8.8 percent for that month. The Houston metro area reportedly has an unemployment rate slightly above the state average at 8.3 percent, but this isn’t too worrisome because job growth in the region is clearly improving.

If you’re unemployed and actively looking for a job, then you may want to consider picking up an application at McDonald’s. According to CNN Money, the company is planning a one-day hiring spree, with the fast-food chain stating that they plan to add 50,000 new employees to its workforce on April 19.

While most people probably don’t see McDonald’s as the most desirable employer to work for, the company brags that McDonald’s offers medical benefits, opportunities for advancement, and flexible working hours. The new jobs being offered are also not all just over-the-counter positions, but management positions as well. It might not be a bad idea to see what’s specifically being offered.

Landing a summer job this year could be easier than it was last year with CNN Money reporting that 55 percent of hiring managers say that they plan to hire seasonal workers over the summer season. Ten percent of the hiring managers surveyed said that they would be hiring more seasonal staff than last summer.

The other good news is that Houston summer employees could also be better paid with the improving economy and trend of increasing wages, as there are a number of indicators that employers will be able to pay workers more money this year. This includes the fact that more hiring managers are saying that they plan to pay their employees higher wages over the summer.

Texas Workforce Commission data indicates that the unemployment rate in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area was at 8.8 percent in the month of January, which is significantly higher than the state's unemployment average of 8.3 percent for that same month.

Perhaps Houston residents will have greater difficulties finding jobs compared to other people in the state. Yet The Houston Business Journal reports that the state of Texas has generally gained jobs so far in the year 2011. The largest state employment increase in January was in the trade, transportation and utilities category, which added 15,800 jobs to the workforce for the month.

At a time where the state is strapped for cash, the Texas government is now in a place where layoffs have become an essential way to overcome a $15 million shortfall. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Texas Education Agency are just two government sectors that will have to soon cut employees.

The Houston Chronicle reports that 555 jobs at Texas prisons will be eliminated due to the Department of Criminal Justice's need to cut spending. The workforce reduction will reportedly not affect the number of prison guard positions that the state currently has, but the layoffs will consist of losing 400 administrative and support jobs as well as 155 positions at Project RIO (Re-Integration of Offenders).

There’s currently a hiring trend across the country that favors applicants that already have jobs as opposed to those who are unemployed. The Seattle Times reports that a Texas electronics company said in a job announcement online that they would “not consider/review anyone NOT currently employed regardless of the reason.” Another restaurant in New Jersey said applicants must be employed in order to be considered for a position.

Yet employment lawyers across the country are questioning the legal implications of this practice of discriminating against the jobless. While the unemployed are not a protected class under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, excluding unemployed job applicants appears to affect mostly African-American, Hispanic and elderly workers.

People who are struggling to find a job in the Houston area might not be having trouble for much longer. The Houston Business Journal now reports that the unemployment rate in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metro area was at 8.3 percent in December 2010, which was down from 8.6 percent the month prior. Apparently there were 8,000 non-agricultural jobs added to the region in the month of December.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), trade, transportation and utilities sectors in the state saw the biggest job gains at the end of last year. Approximately 8,500 people across the state of Texas moved off of the state's unemployment list, with 20,000 non-farm jobs being added to the workforce statewide.

The unemployment rate in the Houston area rose to 8.6 percent in November 2010 after holding a steady unemployment rate of 8.2 percent for the prior two months. Yet the Houston Business Journal reports that the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area is continuing to add jobs around the holiday season.

The Business Journal cited a report released by the Texas Workforce Commission, which stated that there were about 10,900 non-agricultural jobs added to the Houston area last month. Most of these new jobs were in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. Unfortunately, the thousands of new jobs in the metropolitan area were outweighed by 11,700 people in Houston that joined the ranks of unemployment last month.