|
Issue 2, March/April 2004
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Regional Update
Texas employment edged up in January
2004. Total employment gained 3,400 jobs, while private
employment increased by 1,900. The government and educational
and health services sectors continued to add jobs in
January, just as they did throughout most of 2003. Construction
employment improved for the third consecutive month,
indicating a positive trend. Information employment
also turned up slightly in January. While a one-month
increase in this sector’s job growth does not
necessarily signal a trend, it certainly is a positive
change after 34 months of job losses.
Not all sectors experienced job
growth during the month. Job losses continued in manufacturing
for the 38th straight month. While natural resources
and mining employment fell in January 2004, there is
some hope for improvement. High energy prices have boosted
drilling activity in Texas, suggesting that additional
jobs are coming in the months ahead.
Consistent with the overall improvement
in employment, the Texas unemployment rate dropped to
6.3 percent in January, the lowest in 17 months. However,
new monthly unemployment claims rose in January for
the third straight month. Average weekly hours worked
were down over the same period. While these two indicators
contributed negatively to the Texas Leading Index, the
overall change in the index was positive. As a whole,
the Texas Leading Index registered a net growth of 1.18
percent during the months of November through January,
signaling continuing growth in Texas.
—Anna L. Berman
| Regional Economic Indicators |
|
|
Texas Leading Index |
TIPI† total |
1/04 |
117.5 |
127.2 |
| 12/03 |
117.9 |
127.3 |
| 11/03 |
117.0 |
127.1 |
| 10/03 |
116.1 |
127.8 |
| 9/03 |
114.7 |
127.8 |
| 8/03 |
114.4 |
127.4 |
| 7/03 |
114.7 |
127.5 |
| 6/03 |
113.8 |
127.2 |
| 5/03 |
114.1 |
127.6 |
| 4/03 |
112.7 |
127.5 |
| 3/03 |
111.9 |
127.1 |
| 2/03 |
112.3 |
126.8 |
|
| † Texas Industrial Production
Index. |
| Texas Employment* |
|
|
Mining |
Construction
|
Manufacturing |
Government |
Private service-
producing |
1/04 |
144.5 |
550.1 |
885.7 |
1,646.5 |
6,144.1 |
| 12/03 |
144.8 |
548.3 |
887.5 |
1,645.0 |
6,141.8 |
| 11/03 |
144.7 |
546.8 |
889.0 |
1,644.0 |
6,135.6 |
| 10/03 |
145.0 |
545.4 |
890.3 |
1,643.0 |
6,127.6 |
| 9/03 |
145.4 |
548.0 |
891.8 |
1,640.9 |
6,116.4 |
| 8/03 |
145.3 |
547.1 |
893.3 |
1,648.2 |
6,113.2 |
| 7/03 |
145.1 |
548.5 |
895.7 |
1,651.0 |
6,111.0 |
| 6/03 |
144.4 |
549.9 |
899.2 |
1,655.7 |
6,108.2 |
| 5/03 |
144.6 |
552.2 |
903.7 |
1,650.7 |
6,120.2 |
| 4/03 |
144.3 |
552.5 |
908.2 |
1,650.4 |
6,124.3 |
| 3/03 |
143.5 |
550.9 |
908.5 |
1,647.9 |
6,125.6 |
| 2/03 |
142.9 |
555.9 |
915.3 |
1,650.9 |
6,128.6 |
|
| * In thousands. |
| Total Nonfarm Employment* |
| |
Texas |
Louisiana |
New
Mexico |
1/04 |
9,372.7 |
1,910.4 |
780.6 |
| 12/03 |
9,369.3 |
1,900.7 |
782.4 |
| 11/03 |
9,361.9 |
1,904.7 |
779.8 |
| 10/03 |
9,353.0 |
1,905.9 |
778.1 |
| 9/03 |
9,344.4 |
1,900.0 |
776.3 |
| 8/03 |
9,349.0 |
1,894.7 |
776.7 |
| 7/03 |
9,353.2 |
1,894.3 |
775.7 |
| 6/03 |
9,359.5 |
1,903.7 |
773.2 |
| 5/03 |
9,373.5 |
1,905.5 |
773.2 |
| 4/03 |
9,381.7 |
1,904.2 |
772.7 |
| 3/03 |
9,378.5 |
1,905.0 |
771.8 |
| 2/03 |
9,395.6 |
1,908.6 |
772.3 |
|
| * In thousands. |
| About
the Author
Koo is an economist
and Fu is an assistant economist in the
Research Department of the Federal Reserve
Bank of Dallas.
About Southwest Economy
Southwest Economy
is published six times annually by the Federal
Reserve Bank of Dallas. The views expressed
are those of the authors and should not
be attributed to the Federal Reserve Bank
of Dallas or the Federal Reserve System.
Articles may be reprinted
on the condition that the source is credited
and a copy is provided to the Research Department
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Southwest Economy
is available free of charge by writing the
Public Affairs Department, Federal Reserve
Bank of Dallas, P.O. Box 655906, Dallas,
TX 75265-5906, or by telephoning (214) 922-5254. |
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