Unemployment jumps

The unemployment rate in Odessa shot up a full point in January, hitting 4.9 percent.

The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent for December 2008. In January 2008, the rate was 3.4 percent.

Willie Taylor, chief executive officer of Workforce Solutions Permian Basin, said he expected to see the rate rise, but not as much as it did.

"I figured Odessa would go to 4.5," he said. "We've had quite a bit of activity in the (workforce) centers. The 4.9 was just a little bit of a shocker to me."

Midland's unemployment rate continues to be the lowest in the state, despite jumping to 3.8 percent from 2.9 percent in December. Amarillo, at 4.6 percent and Lubbock, at 4.7 percent, also had lower rates than Odessa.

"Amarillo and Lubbock are not as heavy oil and gas as Odessa," Taylor said.

The statewide rate for January was 6.4 percent. While that was up from 5.6 percent in December and 4.4 percent a year ago, it still trailed the national unemployment rate of 7.6 percent.

Across the Permian Basin, unemployment rate jumps of a point or more were the norm, according to Texas Workforce Commission statistics.

Reeves County saw its unemployment rate jump 1.7 percentage points to 8.5 percent, while neighboring Pecos County had a 2.3 percent monthly increase to 7.6 percent. A year ago, its unemployment rate sat at 4.5 percent.

Crane and Andrews counties saw increases of 1.5 percentage points each, to 6.4 and 5 percent, respectively. Winkler County's unemployment rate increased by 1.6 percent to 6.3 percent.

Taylor said there was likely an error in numbers provided by the state that showed the same number - 13,400 - of workers in mining, logging and construction as last month. Those numbers include oil and gas workers.

He said he's addressing the issue with the state, but that the error wasn't factored into the overall unemployment figure.

"I know for a fact these layoffs were oil and gas," Taylor said.

Pat Hanson, office manager at Workforce Solutions' Odessa center, said the facility has seen its client load increase from about 1,000 a month in mid-2008 to 3,000 in February.

"It's been a long time since we had numbers like this," she said.

Taylor is hopeful layoffs will begin to level off in mid- to late March.

"Based on what's going on this week and the week before, we have not hit bottom," he said.

BY THE NUMBERS

County-by-county unemployment percentages for January, with December 2008 numbers in parentheses:

  >> Ector 4.9 (3.8)

  >> Andrews 5.0 (3.5)

  >> Borden 5.2 (3.3)

  >> Crane 6.4 (4.9)

  >> Dawson 7.1 (5.3)

  >> Gaines 4.8 (3.8)

  >> Glasscock 4.0 (3.1)

  >> Howard 6.5 (5.0)

  >> Loving 11.1 (5.9)

  >> Martin 4.3 (3.3)

  >> Midland 3.8 (2.9)

  >> Pecos 7.6 (5.3)

  >> Reeves 8.5 (6.8)

  >> Terrell 11.0 (7.6)

  >> Upton 4.3 (3.3)

  >> Ward 5.2 (4.1)

  >> Winkler 6.3 (4.7)