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.
Houston still fares better than the rest of the country when it comes to rates of unemployment. November's overall unemployment rate across the country was at 9.8 percent, which is up from the national unemployment rate of 9 percent in October and up from the 9.4 percent unemployment rate in November 2009.
Because of the surge in unemployment, it's likely that many Houston residents will be filing for Unemployment Insurance. Compensation and benefits are available to people who have been put out of work through no fault of their own. See the Texas Workforce Commission's website to find out the state's specific guidelines and qualifications for receiving Unemployment Insurance. A Houston employment lawyer in the area can also provide assistance and answer specific questions from both current or former employees about the process of filing a claim for unemployment in the state of Texas.
Related Resources:
- Unemployment Insurance: Overview (FindLaw)
- Locate a Houston Employment Lawyer (FindLaw)
- Eligibility for Unemployment Compensation Benefits (FindLaw)
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