Texas leads nation in job gains during October

In news that will likely give a renewed boost to the Houston real estate market, Texas added more jobs than any other state in the country during the month of October.

According to the Department of Labor, the state added more than 47,000 jobs during the month, although the state's unemployment rate remained level at 8.1 percent.

The trend of the state's strong jobs market is even more stark over the past 12 months. Compared to October 2009, Texas employers have created more than 172,000 new jobs. That was also the largest number of any state, and was more than triple the number of jobs added by the next closest state in Pennsylvania, which created less than 49,000 positions.

Nationwide, job gains in October were far more common that job losses, as jobs increased in 41 states as well as the District of Columbia, while just six shed jobs during the month.

While job growth in Houston has lagged slightly behind that of the rest of the state, the economy is still fairly stable. Data from the Texas Workforce Commission, released last week, found that the area added 9,500 jobs during the month.