Texas Unemployment Rate Drops in October

In the Texas Tribune, an article titled "Texas Unemployment Rate Drops in October" stated that according to statistics released 11/18/11 by the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas unemployment rate dropped slightly this month, from 8.5 percent to 8.4 percent. This unemployment rate still remains lower than the national unemployment rate, which also dropped from 9.1 percent to 9.0 percent in October.


Even though we have this improvement, the Texas economy is actually doing worse than it was this time last year, and as the national economy had improved, the Texas economy has failed to keep up. In October 2010, when the national unemployment rate was at 9.7 percent, in Texas it was at 8.2 percent.


In October the Texas job creation surpassed growth in the workforce, and from September to October, the unemployment rate dropped in all the metropolitan regions except Tyler.


Tom Pauken, chairman of the workforce commission stated in a press release, "private employers continue to invest their capital in the growing Texas workforce. The private sector has added an impressive 286,200 jobs since October 2010, for a growth rate of 3.4 percent."


The leisure and hospitality industry, which consists of many low-paying jobs, gained the most jobs in October: 14,900. Education and health services added more than 6,000 jobs for the third consecutive month. The mining sector, which consists of jobs like oil and natural gas excavation, also continued to grow, adding 4,500 jobs. However, other production industries in Texas, such as construction and manufacturing, declined by 12,800 and 1,000 jobs respectively.


Since August, Texas lost government jobs. Texas government at the federal, state and local levels has shed a total of 31,500 jobs. This includes an additional 11,000 government jobs lost in October.


As the Texas population grows, so does the need for more jobs. As long as the government jobs are shrinking and the private sector jobs are increasing, I am thrilled about this slight decrease on the unemployment rate.


I'm about to go a little crazy and perhaps off topic. This subject of unemployment has always made me pretty upset, just because I personally know family member who are struggling financially. Had so many people not stopped looking for work across the US, the unemployment rate would still be near 9.7%. Meanwhile, in Texas, the unemployment rate likely would have plummeted to under 5.5% had Texas not had to absorb so many economic refugees from other states. I have recently learned the whole idea of this unemployment rate. I learned that it reflects new people applying for unemployment, which means if you take that and reflect it upon the "job creation" or "new jobs" they cancel out and therefore unemployment is a lot higher than what most people think. A true unemployment rate includes those who have stopped looking for work + those on unemployment + those who haven't even applied for unemployment benefits yet.


 I understand that people get laid off and are out of work, however, I have a VERY hard time grasping the fact that people who just do not want to work can get unemployment. I have a family member who had several job opportunities and worked them for a couple weeks and just decided to quit and get on unemployment. I just have a hard time trust in people on unemployment. Even though it seems like a lot of work, all you have to do is say that you left your job for a "good cause" and based on that reason, that will determine whether or not you are eligible for unemployment benefits. Also, if your unemployment benefits run out, there are many other ways to apply for other benefits to receive government aid. It makes me kind of sick. Again, I understand those people who really do need the help and I completely support that, but for those who abuse the privilege, I have no sympathy for them, they need to go get a job.

Why Isn't Sex Education Taught in Schools?

I am responding to my colleague's blog post, "Sex Education in Schools" about why sex education is not being taught in Texas schools. Rebekah states that many other states are not teaching children about sex, but Texas is not. It was said that there is a feelings that by teaching kids about sex ed, we are basically giving them permission to have sex. Government officials think that sex education should be taught in the household not at school. Rebekah brought up the great point that the state complains about teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases but they do not do anything to try and prevent it.

She and I have a very similar view on this matter. I believe that sex education should be taught in schools. This article brought me back to the time when I was in middle school and we had to take a sex ed class. The videos and power point slides they show were so nasty that it kind of made you not want to have sex because of the vivid images they would show and learning about all the different diseases you can get. I think that kids most definitely need to be informed about all the consequences of sex.

Parents may think that teaching middle school students about sex is inappropriate because of their age but I actually think that is the best time to teach them. If you think about it, we are hearing more and more about middle school kids getting pregnant. Now this could be just because their parents aren't really caring about their kids enough to talk to them about sex. I think that a parent  who doesn't openly discuss the cautions and consequences of sex are not really parents, they need to care a little bit more about their kids.

Now I agree with Rebekah that if we teach students about sex, we are most certainly not giving them permission to have sex. On the other hand, kids are going to do what they want to do, regardless if they are taught. However, I do believe that if you teach them about sex, it will lower the amount of teen pregnancies in Texas. It might not completely stop the rate of pregnancies, but it will greatly decrease it.

On the money issue, I agree with Rebekah. It's like a chain effect; if you teach kids about sex, it will lower the pregnancy rate, which will save Texas money in the long run. The amount of money the state spends on abortion clinics, sexually transmitted disease treatments, etc would, in my opinion greatly go down. It will also save Texans money because we wouldn't be spending money on these things.

If the government wants something done about the teen pregnancy rate, they need to do something about it. They need to bring back sex education in schools so that your children will be able to learn all there is to learn about sex, what you can do to prevent it, and the consequences of having sex. Rebekah did a fantastic job addressing this issue and I wish that the government would feel the same way.