Signs that the economy is picking up in Southeast Texas and across the state are evident with the latest released employment figures.

While the unemployment rate for Port Arthur dropped from 15.2 percent in September from 17.1 percent in August, the workforce increased greatly with 20,150 people employed. This is the first time since December 2009 that there has been more than 20,000 people employed, according to figures released by Texas Workforce Commission.

Beaumont’s unemployment rate moved from 9.4 percent in August to 8.5 percent in September as the workforce grew from 53,328 to 54,168.

Orange County saw 9.9 percent unemployment, down from 10.5 percent in August with 84 more people entering the workforce.

Jefferson County saw 10.2 percent unemployment, down from 11.3 percent in August. The workforce, at 109,316, is the highest it has been in more than 10 years.

Robert Foster, labor market analyst with Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas, said the increase in the workforce is good news.

“Employers are to be congratulated because they are the ones putting people to work and on the payroll,” Foster said.

The economy is Southeast Texas is picking up, he added, said that construction jobs are continuing to move at a fairly good level pace. The opening of Omni Port has helped the figures, he said, and the Keystone Pipeline project will need 2,000 to 3,000 workers with another 300 permanent jobs expected.

“Everything is on the upswing for 2013 and I think it will continue to climb to where we were before,” he said. “It’s trickling across the U.S., little pieces at a time. Texas and Southeast Texas are very fortunate because we have industry and petrochemical here.”

Statewide, the unemployment rate fell sharply to 6.8 percent in September, down from 7.1 percent in the largest one-month drop in nearly 30 years, according to state job figures released Friday.

The Texas Workforce Commission says the state added 21,000 nonfarm jobs, led by a gain of 13,600 jobs in professional and business services. The last time the Texas jobless rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point in one month was October-November 1983, when it fell to 7.0 percent, according to commission data.

“Thanks to low taxes, a sensible regulatory environment and an entrepreneurial spirit, Texas remains the No. 1 state in America to do business,” Tom Pauken, the commission’s former chairman who is now the commissioner representing employers, said.

The national unemployment rate for September was 7.8 percent.

mmeaux@panews.com