Wednesday, March 26, 1997

Unemployment in Abilene inches upward in February.

Of the 60,900 people in the civilian workforce, 2,700 were looking for jobs. That makes unemployment 4.4 percent, up from 4.3 percent in the previous month.

Officials with the Texas Workforce Commission said the decline of 200 people in the workforce and increase of 100 in unemployed is a normal, seasonal adjustment.

Business closures accounted for a drop of 200 in the transportation, communication and utilities group, analysts said. New businesses created a jump of 200 in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors.

Statewide, the unemployment rate fell slightly to 5.8 percent in February, one-tenth of a percent lower than the rate in January.

Bryan-College Station had the lowest unemployment rate of 2.4 percent. That was down from the 2.5 percent rate in January. McAllen-Edinbury-Mission recorded the highest rate of 20.8 percent, nearly 1 percent lower than the 2.7 percent rate in January.

Rates of unemployment in the urban areas of Texas as announced by the TWC for February, compared with revised January figures (in parentheses) were:

Amarillo 4.3 (4.4); Austin-San Marcos 3.3 (3.4); Beaumont-Port Arthur 8.1 (8.7); Brazoria 7.4 (7.9); Brownsville-Harlingen 12.9 (12.9); Bryan-College Station 2.4 (2.5); Corpus Christi 8.5 (8.8); Dallas 4.0 (3.9); El Paso 11.9 (11.8); Fort Worth-Arlington 4.1 (4.0); Galveston-Texas City 8.4 (8.8); Houston 5.4 (5.5); Killeen-Temple 5.1 (5.3).

Laredo 12.5 (12.3); Longview-Marshall 8.0 (7.9); Lubbock 3.8 (3.8); McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 20.8 (21.7); Odessa-Midland 5.8 (5.7); San Angelo 3.6 (3.6); San Antonio 4.2 (4.2); Sherman-Denison 5.2 (4.7); Texarkana 8.0 (7.9); Tyler 6.3 (6.4); Victoria 5.9 (5.8); Waco 4.5 (4.4); Wichita Falls 4.5 (4.5).

(The Associated Press also contributed to this report.)