This is from the latest report from the U.S. Department of Labor.  Over the previous year, non-farm employment rose in 11 of the 38 metropolitan areas surveyed with the largest year-over-year percentage employment gain recorded in Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown (up 2.1percent), followed by San Antonio (up 2 percent); Austin-Round Rock (up 1.6 percent) and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (up +1.6 percent).

 The report went on to say that 121 metropolitan areas had jobless rates reaching 7% or above, up from only 18 areas the year before. In addition, 34 areas had rates below 4%--far fewer than the 133 areas that had jobless rates below 4% in Nov. of 2007.

The report goes on to say the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington unemployment rate hit 5.7% in Nov. of 2008, which is higher than the area's unemployment rate of 4.1% a year ago.