WASHINGTON CO. JOBLESS RATE DOWN SLIGHTLY IN DECEMBER

  

Washington County’s unemployment rate dropped one-half of a percent in December, but remains well above the rate from one year ago.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the county’s rate fell to 4.9-percent in December, one-half percent below the November rate of 5.4-percent.  That number is still well above the jobless rate in December of 2014 of 3.5-percent – a difference of 1.4-percent.

State-wide, the Texas jobless rate of 4.2-percent is down 3-tenths from November, and one-tenth above the 2014 rate of 4.1-percent.  The state unemployment rate remains well below the nation-wide rate of 4.8-percent.

Throughout the area, local counties also showed a drop in their December jobless rates:

Austin County’s rate of 4.5-percent is down 3-tenths from 4.8 percent in November.

The rate in Brazos County fell 2-tenths from 3.3-percent in 2014 to 3.1-percent last month.

In Burleson County, the unemployment rate of 4.4-percent fell 3-tenths from 4.7-percent last December.

Colorado County’s rate of 4.0-percent is down 3-tenths from 4.3-percent.

The Fayette County rate dropped 2-tenths from 3.5-percent in 2014 to 3.3-percent last month.

Grimes County saw a 3-tenths of a percent drop in its rate – falling from 5.8-to-5.5 percent.

In Lee County, the jobless December rate of 3.4-percent is a 3-tenths drop from 3.7-percent last year.

And, the Waller County rate dropped 3-tenths from 5.1-percent to 4.8.

The lowest rate in Texas is in McMullen County, south of San Antonio, at 1.7-percent.  The highest rate in the state is in Starr County, in deep south Texas, at 13.6-percent