Oct. 22--September unemployment figures place Henderson County with its highest jobless numbers of the decade, Texas Workforce Commission reports said.

The local jobless number of 8.5 percent tracked slightly above the state figure of 8.2 percent. The county spiked to 8.4 percent jobless in July, but saw some relief in September with a dip to 8.2 percent.

Henderson County's up and down decade bottomed out at 3.5 percent in 2000. As recently as May 2008, the county saw a 4.3 percent reading.

Texas lost almost 45,000 jobs in September TWC reports said.

"The Texas labor force is growing as more people enter the job market, but job seekers are hampered by fewer jobs," said Ronny Congleton, the workforce commissioner representing labor said.

The leisure and recreation industry took the biggest hit in the state, with 16,000 jobs lost U.S. Department of Labor statistics show Henderson County with a higher number of workers in that category than the state average. With Cedar Creek lake and other recreational destinations, the county has 12 percent of its workers in related fields. Statewide the number is 9.5 percent.

In September the county workforce stood at 36,673, up from 36,566 in August. The number employed dropped slightly from 33,578 to 33,561. The number unemployed grew from 2,988 to 3,112, the highest number of the year.

"TWC is here to help those joining the labor force with work-search assistance, skills training and other services."

The East Texas Workforce Center at 205 N. Murchison in Athens provides those services to local job seekers. They can be reached at 903-677-7277.

Henderson County's neighbors saw small employment-rate changes from August to September.

--Anderson County from 9.1 percent to 9.4 percent;

--Kaufman County from 8.6 percent to 8.8 percent;

--Navarro County from 8.0 percent to 8.4 percent;

--Smith County from 7.8 percent to 8.3 percent and

--Van Zandt County from 7.2 percent to 7.4 percent.

-----

To see more of the Athens Daily Review or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.athensreview.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, Athens Daily Review, Texas

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.