NPR for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Unemployment in Texas in Down, But...

By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator

Dallas, TX – Well, yippee-aye-o-kye-ay. The number of unemployed in Texas keeps dwindling away. And we here in North Texas can join the celebration - I think, because I still can't figure out how they get these numbers! I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.

I'll get to the figures in a second. But I've got to tell you; every month the Texas Workforce Commission sends me about four to five files elaborating on the statistics, and every month I have to call them for a clarification. It's almost humorous. For example: this month, the Texas seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October is 6.5 percent, down one-tenth of a percent from September. Not a lot, but good and in line with the national decrease. But as I was reading down, I saw "initial claims for unemployment benefits," and that figure increased by over 11,000 claims in October. That was my first reason to call.

Now when I do call down to the Workforce in Austin, these guys are very helpful and sometimes confused themselves. Here's the explanation: according to the methodology used, "initial" claims are not calculated into the state figure. In fact, the monthly unemployment rate is a sampling of one week - and it's always the Sunday through Saturday that has the 12th in it. That's all - one week. Over the years, a few people I've talked to think the methodology should be changed. Today's consultant had no fight with the way things are.

Then I get to this other file and one category is named "Highest Paid Non-Degree Occupations" and under it are professions like Physicians and Surgeons, Psychiatrists and Dentists. Whoa! That can't be right. Sure enough, it wasn't and they thanked me very much for bringing it to their attention.

All that said, the not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Dallas went from 7 to 6.4 percent and Fort Worth/Arlington from 6.3 to 5.7 percent. Pretty good. For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.

 

Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m.

Email Maxine Shapiro about this story.