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One company's move to a nearby suburb will result in the loss of several Houston manufacturing jobs.

Insteel Industries Inc. recently announced that it will consolidate the company's manufacturing facilities in Texas and move those operations to a plant in Dayton, which is about 50 miles from Houston. That move will result in the loss of about 67 Houston jobs, while Dayton will gain about 19 workers.

The announcement came after Insteel purchased Houston-based MMI Product Inc.'s Ivy Steel & Wire Inc. The Houston facility will close up shop at the end of February 2011 and the company's manufacturing equipment will then be shipped to the Dayton location.

According to the Houston Business Journal, Insteel is a North Carolina-based company that produces steel wires. The company's move to nearby Dayton was somewhat expected after it acquired the local manufacturing business.

"Considering the ongoing weakness in our markets and reduced utilization levels at both Texas facilities, we believe these actions are essential to reducing our operating costs and strengthening our competitive position," H.O. Woltz III, president and chief executive officer of Insteel, said in a statement. "We do not take the decision to close a facility lightly and are committed to making the transition as smooth as possible for the employees who are impacted."

The move should have a minimal impact on the Houston area's manufacturing industry, which in recent months has begun recovering from the economic recession, as has the local economy as a whole.

The manufacturing industry employed 221,800 workers during October, which is up from 221,400 workers during September and a 1.2 percent increase from last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area's unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent for the second consecutive month during October, which was well below the national average at the time of 9.6 percent.

A total of 2,525,800 people were employed in the Houston area that month, which is up from 2,516,300 workers during September and a .2 percent increase from last year.

Labels: Houston manufacturing jobs

The number of jobs Houston (Click here) has is continuing to grow.

During October, Texas's unemployment rate remained at 8.1 percent for the second month in a row, keeping under the national average at the time of 9.6 percent. The Houston area had an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent during September.

The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area employed a total of 2,525,800 workers during October, which is up from 2,516,300 workers during September and a .2 percent increase from last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The government industry accounted for the majority of the city's monthly employment increase, adding 8,400 jobs during October. That was followed by the construction industry's addition of 2,400 jobs and the trade, transportation, and utilities industry's increase of 2,100 jobs.

In addition, the education and health services industry added 800 jobs, while the mining and logging industry increased by 500 jobs; the manufacturing industry added 400 jobs; and the information industry increased by 100 jobs.

Year over year, the mining and logging industry experienced the largest increase in employment, growing by 4.2 percent to 91,000 workers. That was followed by the education and health services industry, which increased by 2.9 percent to 308,500 jobs.

The leisure and hospitality industry grew by 1.6 percent to 233,500 workers, while the manufacturing industry increased by 1.2 percent to 221,800 jobs, and the other services industry grew by 1 percent to 91,600 workers.

Only four industries experienced a monthly decrease in employment, including: leisure and hospitality by 2,800 jobs; professional and business services by 1,700 jobs; other services by 400 jobs; and financial activities by 300 jobs.

Six industries suffered from year-over-year employment declines, including:

• Information by 4.7 percent to 32,200 jobs
• Construction by 2.7 percent to 171,200 jobs
• Financial activities by 1.2 percent to 136,700 jobs
• Professional and business services by 1 percent to 349,300 jobs
• Government by .3 percent to 375,700 jobs
• Trade, transportation, and utilities by .1 percent to 513,300 jobs

Labels: Jobs Houston

Experts are providing some hope that more Phoenix AZ jobs will be created next year.

Lee McPheters, an economist with Arizona State University, is predicting that a total of 50,000 jobs will be created throughout the state during 2011. He also foresees businesses adding workers at a fast enough pace to redeem the 300,000 jobs lost during the economic recession.

Several industries are expected to add jobs in the coming years, including healthcare (Click here to find Arizona pharmacy jobs), information technology, government, professional and business services, and education.

It appears as though the local economy is already trending in the right direction. During October, Arizona's unemployment rate decreased from 9.7 percent to 9.5 percent, which was slightly below the national average at the time of 9.6 percent.

The state had a total non-farm employment of 2,413,100 workers during October, which is up from 2,398,600 workers during September and a 1 percent increase from last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Phoenix area also has been seeing promising economic signs. The city had a total non-farm employment of 1,728,700 workers during October, which is up from 1,706,300 workers during September and a 1.4 percent increase from last year.

Officials maintain that the national employment picture will improve next year as well. James Glassman, managing director and chief economist for JPMorgan Chase, predicts that America will see above-average annual growth in employment for many years to come.

Specifically, he thinks the nation will see its employment figures increase by about 4 percent each year, which would bring the unemployment rate down by about one-half of a percentage point each year. If that happens, it would take America about 10 years to reach its full employment level.

"We fell into a deep hole," Glassman told the TriValley Central. "It's not natural to stay in the deep hole. There's a lot that's been done to restore the health of the private sector and we're now starting to see more and more activity, a revival in the U.S. Economy."

Labels: Phoenix AZ jobs

Tens of thousands of Dallas jobs (Click here) have been added so far this year.

A new report from the U.S. Department of Labor found that the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area added 24,800 jobs during the first 10 months of this year, with October marking the sixth month in a row that the area saw over-the-year employment gains.

The professional and business services industry added the most jobs during the 10 month period, increasing by 13,000 workers, with most of those positions in the Dallas-Plano-Irving area. The government industry added 5,900 jobs and the manufacturing industry increased by 5,100 workers.

The information technology and trade, transportation, and utilities industries suffered the biggest drops in employment during the first 10 months of this year, losing 5,900 jobs and 5,600 jobs, respectively.

During September, the Dallas area's unemployment rate decreased from 8.4 percent to 7.9 percent, which was well below the national average at the time of 9.6 percent. The area's October unemployment rate has yet to be released.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area had a total non-farm employment of 2,879,900 workers during October, which is up from 2,866,200 workers during September and a .9 percent increase from last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Labels: Dallas jobs