More people had jobs in the City of McAllen in February than in the same month of 2013, and the 58,500 people working marked the second most ever employed in the City, according to the latest monthly job data from the Texas Workforce Commission.

The state agency reports that McAllen’s unemployment rate – the lowest in the Rio Grande Valley – was 6.4 percent in February, up just a hair from January’s 6.3 percent. The slight rise reflects a state-wide trend as Texas and many major cities were also up.

February’s unemployment rate is the lowest for a February since 2008, improving over last year’s 7.5 percent and is the third straight February in which the jobless rate is lower than the previous year. The year-over-year numbers show that even with an occasional hiccup, McAllen’s job growth and recovery after the recession continues to move forward in a positive way.

What’s more, overall employment is up in McAllen. This February 1,421 more people are working than last February, and it’s the fourth straight year that number has increased. It means that more jobs have continued to be created in the city for four straight years with Texas Workforce Commission stats showing 3,530 more jobs since 2010.

“Creating jobs is a top priority for us in McAllen,” said Mayor Jim Darling. “We are working with MEDC, South Texas College, the school district, Reynosa and other regional partners to create jobs. It’s good to see we are improving. We have some successes, but there’s more work to do.”

February’s overall employment of 58,498 in McAllen is the second highest total since the TWC began keeping separate statistics for cities in 2005. Only November 2009 was higher with 58,531. About 20% of the jobs in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Metro Area are located in the City.

Regionally, the McAllen metro area recorded a 10.3 percent unemployment rate in February with 290,497 total employed and has increased by 7,000 jobs year over year. Also for February unemployment, the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area came in at 9.8% and Texas 5.9%, while Edinburg was at 6.6%, Harlingen 7.4%, San Benito 7.4%, Mission 8.2%, Pharr 8.5%, Weslaco 9.3%, San Juan 9.8% and Brownsville 10.6%